palanca

lever

noun pah-LAHN-kah Rare

Also means

connection (informal)

Usage Note

Palanca means a physical lever in mechanical contexts, but in everyday Latin American Spanish it widely means a personal connection or pull — someone who can get you a favour. Tener palanca means to have connections that open doors, similar to 'having an in' in English. This informal sense is much less common in Spain.

Examples

"Necesitas palanca para conseguir ese trabajo."

Natural Translation

You need connections to land that job.

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