“What is the meaning of Pendejo?”

A vaquero Recruiting day was big news in the territory. Many men came out just to see what it was all about. Arvel was especially cheerful, and he was pleased with the turnout. Dick bristled a little at the nonwhites, but knew Arvel too well to protest. He let Arvel deal with them. One was a middle-aged Mexican vaquero. He was once a handsome man but the sun and the hard living and stark terrain had weathered him. He was tall and wore his well-seasoned outfit with pride. He was not so ornately dressed as Chica, but also could not ever be taken for anything but a vaquero. Arvel liked him immediately and signed him up. He smiled at the man as he completed the enlistment papers. “I have a question for you.”
The man looked up from his writing. He’d put on brass framed eyeglasses to read his contract and suddenly appeared more like an old grandfather than a Ranger. “Sí?”
“What is the meaning of Pendejo?” Dick looked up at Arvel, confused by the question. The vaquero smiled.
“It literally means pelo púbico, ey, a pubic hair, but it is really an insult word.” He wondered at the strange captain’s even stranger question.
“An insult term?” Arvel smiled.
“Sí, it means dumb-ass.”
Arvel laughed out loud. The Mule Tamer