Florida- The rules are different here Chapter VII

What does a word mean? That's the center of a debate in Miami-Dade County. West Miami City officials denied a restaurant a permit for its signs. Why? Because some feel the food establishment's name translates to a profanity in Spanish.

The city officials were within their right. Mr. Reyes one of the owners feels people are being silly but acknowledges at the same time the name was chosen for shock value. Grow up Mr. Reyes.

Some customers giggle when they tell friends to meet them at the new Spanish restaurant on Red Road. Others might blush.

The cooks and waiters don't bat an eyelash.

Even though the name is considered a profanity by many -- it's used in a saying that roughly translates to ''go to hell,'' and it's defined in several Spanish dictionaries as male genitalia -- the restaurant's owners maintain it's not a cuss word. They point to a 15th Century definition: a ''crow's nest'' on a sailing vessel.

Not convinced: West Miami city officials, who denied the restaurant a permit for its signs. The vinyl banner hanging out front since the place opened almost three months ago has to come down by Monday, or the owners face a $250-a-day fine.

''I don't think it belongs in our community,'' said Maria Muhiña, who lives near the restaurant and was one of the first to call the city to complain.

''They are being silly and they need to grow up,'' said Jorge Reyes, one of three owners of El Carajo, two of whom are also partners in the AnaCapri local restaurant chain.

The Spanish saying that roughly translates to ''go to hell'' came from mariners telling others ''to go far, to get up into the crow's nest where they couldn't be seen, where it was awful to be,'' Reyes says.

A mast and crow's nest appear on the restaurant's logo and an old mariner's book -- El Indispensable del Marino -- sits on a glass table at the entrance, where the owners can show critics how the word is used in that context.

But page 407 of the Diccionario de la Lengua Española of the Real Academia Española -- or the Spanish Royal Academy, considered the authority on the Spanish language -- has a different definition: ''penis; virile member.'' So does McGraw Hill's Streetwise Spanish, Barron's Dictionary of Spanish Slang and the Oxford Spanish-English dictionary.

''That's what my dictionary says,'' says West Miami City Manager Yolanda Aguilar, who got calls from concerned residents and denied the business a temporary sign.

''People felt offended,'' Aguilar said. ``West Miami is a quiet town. We definitely don't want to send the wrong message.''

The city's planning and zoning board felt the same way, said Joe Paz, who was acting chairman of the board when it denied the restaurant's permit for a sign in August.

''Throughout the years, as the language has evolved, the more common connotation of the word here in Miami -- especially with the Cuban population -- is not a nice word,'' he said.

At least one expert agrees that the most common use of the word is what counts.

''I don't find any definitions of it that are anything like a crow's nest on a ship,'' said Professor Susan Carvalho of Middlebury College in Vermont, who researched the word at The Herald's request.

The most common definitions are male genitalia and a mild expletive, she said.

Regardless, Reyes and his partners have hired attorney José ''Pepe'' Herrera and want to take the city to court to keep their name.

''It wasn't always an ugly word,'' Reyes said. ``We've had priests eat here.''

He acknowledges, however, that -- while the restaurant at 1180 SW 57th Ave. (Red Road) serves seafood -- the name was chosen mostly for shock value.