Now, I don’t claim to know the origin of this phrase.  Growing up Latino, I’ve just been exposed to this phrase so much by family and friends, that it was just filed away into the lexicon of my subconscious.  I just accept it without giving it a second thought.  But when I actively think about and evaluate the phrase, it turns out to be funny.

All you have to do to understand certain words and phrases is to hear them used in context once or twice, then you get it.  So, rather than try to explain what this phrase means, I’ll just show you a few examples of it’s use.  Okay?  The phrase:

La Mama De Tarzan

Ex 1. Charlie?  Oh yeah.  He can fix your roof.  Are you kidding me?  He can fix your plumbing too.  He’s Tarzan’s mama!

Ex 2. I think you should let Denise sing at your wedding.  Does she have a great voice?  You bet.  She sings soul, jazz, rock–all sorts of stuff beautifully.  Sheesh!  She’s Tarzan’s mama.

Ex 3. Rubens, Phillies, Meatballs, The Elvis: when it comes to sandwiches, I’m Tarzan’s freakin’ mama!

Ex4. Man, if you want to win at movie trivia tonight, get Michael on your team.  Michael is Tarzan’s mama.

I can’t finish this post without mentioning that one can substitute King Kong for Tarzan.  As in, “Arnold is King Kong’s mother he’s so good at proofreading!“