Dude / idiot — best friend or insult, decided entirely by tone.
The most Argentine word after che. Between friends it is a term of endearment used constantly: "che boludo" is practically hello. Said flat to a stranger, it means idiot. Argentines calibrate this instantly by pitch, and learners routinely get it wrong.
From "bola" (ball). The old story says front-line soldiers carrying heavy stone bolas were the expendable ones — hence the fool. It has softened into affection.
Wait until an Argentine uses it on you first. It is warm inside a friendship and genuinely rude outside one.
Chile says weón and plays the same double game. Mexico says güey. Spain says tío.
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