When I was in the Dominican Republic, I heard men referred to as tigres... I took it to mean that they were flirts, but I never really got a good definition.
Can anyone explain how calling a man a 'tigre' would translate into English? In Dominican slang or otherwise!
I must agree with most of, if not all the definitions provided by the other poster. A tigre or tiguere translates into:
It depends on the context when you use the word tigre which I use a lot when talking among Dominicans.
Just returned from the Dominican Republic this week - the small town of Guerra to be exact where they explained 'tigre' ('tiguere' is the animal there) and Tiguerona to me.
It definitely is used with a good connotation as well as a bad one. Doesn't always have to be negative.
A person who is wise and street smart and someone who will take advantage of the situation be that both GOOD or bad. A shark is probably a good English parallel (like a card shark).
Either way the person is wise and smart... now whether the tigre or tiguerona uses his strengths for good or for bad is to be determined.
I definitely watched them use tigre or tiguerona as a compliment as well!
The Diccionario de americanismos has different meanings on tigre for Dominican Republic:
II. 1. m-f. Cu, RD, Co, Ve, Ec, Bo, Py, Ar; Ur, p.u. Persona muy hábil en alguna actividad.
III. 1. m-f. RD. tíguere, persona golfa.
2. RD. tíguere, persona cuya identidad se desconoce.
I for instance found this sentence in La fiesta del Chivo (2000), by Mario Vargas Llosa, which is based in Dominican in the 60s:
Trujillo, en un viaje a Estados Unidos, se enteró de que el pimpollo de los afiches era un tíguere domicano.
Note the usage of 'tíguere' instead of 'tigre', which is also used in Diccionario Dominicano:
“Tiguere” se utiliza para definir a una persona oportunista, tramposa o astuta, es aquel individuo que tiene un buen repertorio de habilidades para manejar muchas situaciones. Que no se deje engañar facilmente y que siempre ve o busca ventaja en las cosas.
In Spain I'd say it has a positve connotation. Calling someone 'tigre' is a friendly and casual way of praising someone:
Imagine two friends randomly meeting on the street:
- ¿Qué pasa, tigre? ¿Qué haces tú por aquí?
and/or maybe cheering him up:
Imagine a soccer player that has spent the whole match sitting on the bench; now his coach picks him to play the last 10 minutes:
- ¡Vamos, tigre! ¡A por ellos!
I lived in the Dominican Republic for a couple of years and I heard it used in a few different instances (used both in negative and jokingly positive ways):
Troublemakers in the street (members of gangs, etc.)
Prankster
Scoundrel
Bold or daring person (men mostly)
It is also occasionally used with women ('tigra'), but not as often.
The basic connotation of Tigre is the English version of a 'bad boy', 'bad ass', 'wise guy' or 'shark'.
tiger is someone who is on top of the ranks on street world. A tiger one is always ready for everything and react when it's needed. most of the time they are burglars, thieves and hustlers...
When I was in the Dominican my friends there explained that "Que lo que tiguere" was most closely translated to "What's up playa" in American slang. I heard it pretty frequently in the Punta Cana/Veron/Bavaro regions.
Tiguere o Tigre : Muchacho joven, hábil, audaz. Pero también poco serio y de poca confianza. " Mi hijo, no te juntes con Carlos que ese es tipo es un tigre"
Young man who is gutsy or good at something.
Dominican slang dictionary
So if you want to use "tigre" beware with your wordings and with the context of your phrases
– Bardo Apr 24 '15 at 12:09