Can someone explain a bit of slang?

[mac56]

I figured if anyone might know the answer to this, it's my fellow DU'ers.

Here's the deal. A friend is in a production of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". She has a line that no one quite understands: she tells someone in the play that she is going to give one of the other characters "a piece of Spanish news."

"A piece of Spanish news"? Is this Southern slang? Or New Orleans slang? Has anyone ever heard this before? They can figure out from the context what it means - - it's obviously information that's meant to catch the recipient off guard - - but what they're interested in is the origin of the phrase.

Anybody?

[rug]

1. Franco is still dead.

[Flaxbee]

2. hmm. I have no idea, but now I'm curious

:shrug:

[LynzM]

3. Wow, finding almost nothing via Google

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0112b&L=ads-l&P=8080

Seems like it only shows up 4 places?

[Glorfindel]

4. I wonder if it could be referring to Spanish flu indirectly?

To give someone a piece of Spanish news might be equivalent to infecting them with the Spanish flu. Just an idle speculation, considering the devastating importance of Spanish flu to Williams's generation. Or it could be the equivalent of a backhanded insult, such as "take French leave" for desertion. Probably it's just one of Williams's many affectations, such as "equitation." The man loved language, and it loved him right back.

[deucemagnet]

5. Wow. Apparently you aren't the only one perplexed by this.

This is the only relevant link my google search returned: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:TLoiHQeQFoAJ:listserv.dom.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe%3FA2%3Dind0111%26L%3Dstumpers-l%26P%3D50395+%22I+have+some+spanish+news%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1

[Floogeldy]

6. Goes back to when the Spaniards came to the North American continent . . .

They said ANYTHING to get the gold from the inhabitants.

The "news" is a lie. It's all bullshit like the Bush-controlled media.

}(

[OhioBlue]

7. I haven't heard it before...

google doesn't seem to be helping much. But, maybe it could have to do with the unrest in Spain in the era? Maybe the phrase was used b/c of shocking headlines coming out of Spain?

[Stardust]

8. Maybe she's talking about Spanish Fly. n/t

[Haole Girl]

9. Ugh, this is driving me crazy

I can't find the meaning of it anywhere and it is driving me nutty! I've searched google and several slang dictionaries.

Will someone please help? I hate it when I can't find an answer to something.

[OhioBlue]

10. kick

what a piece of trivia!