Spanish · Fútbol & the Stadium
¡Se la comió!
seh lah koh-MYOH · /se la ko.ˈmjo/
He totally blew it / whiffed an easy one
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"He ate it"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The groan when a striker misses a sitter — "se la comió," he ate the goal instead of scoring it. Everyday couch-and-cantina football talk, only lightly coarse. You'll also hear the harsher "¡fumó!" (he smoked it) or the classic despairing "¡ay, no!" for the same open-net heartbreak.
Heard in the wild
¡Estaba solo frente al arco y se la comió!
He was one-on-one with the keeper and totally blew it!
Where it lands
Mexico (universal); common in football-speak
Quick answers
- What does "¡Se la comió!" mean?
- In Spanish, "¡Se la comió!" means "He totally blew it / whiffed an easy one". Literally it's "He ate it". The groan when a striker misses a sitter — "se la comió," he ate the goal instead of scoring it. Everyday couch-and-cantina football talk, only lightly coarse. You'll also hear the harsher "¡fumó!" (he smoked it) or the classic despairing "¡ay, no!" for the same open-net heartbreak.
- Is "¡Se la comió!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "¡Se la comió!"?
- Say it "seh lah koh-MYOH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: se la ko.ˈmjo.
Related in Spanish
¡Pinche árbitro! PEEN-cheh AR-bee-troh Bloody ref! / freaking referee! ¡Árbitro vendido! AR-bee-troh ben-DEE-doh The ref's been bought! / bent referee! Una cascarita kahs-kah-REE-tah A pickup soccer game / a kickabout ¡Métele! MEH-teh-leh Go for it! / step on it! / give it some! ¡No mames! noh MAH-mess No way! / You've got to be kidding me! ¡No manches! noh MAHN-chess No way! / Come on! (the polite twin of no mames)
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