In Spanish, 'costa' simply means coast, and it starts the names of Spain's holiday coastlines — the Costa del Sol, the Costa Brava — where huge numbers of British tourists have gone on package holidays since the 1960s.

In Spanish在西班牙文裡， 'costa' simply means coast'costa'就是「海岸」的意思， and it starts the names of Spain's holiday coastlines而且是西班牙度假海岸名稱的開頭—— the Costa del Sol, the Costa Brava像the Costa del Sol、the Costa Brava—— where huge numbers of British tourists have gone on package holidays since the 1960s從1960年代起大批英國遊客就跟團去那裡度假。

British newspapers then borrowed the pattern as a joke: take any stretch of coast, stick 'Costa' in front, and add a word that says what the place is really known for. So the retirement towns on the south coast of England became the 'Costa Geriatrica'; a coast with grey weather and rocks gets called the 'Costa del Concrete' or similar.

British newspapers then borrowed the pattern as a joke後來英國報紙就把這個模式拿來開玩笑： take any stretch of coast隨便找一段海岸， stick 'Costa' in front前面加上'Costa'， and add a word that says what the place is really known for再加一個能說出那地方真正特色的詞。 So the retirement towns on the south coast of England became the 'Costa Geriatrica'所以英格蘭南岸的退休小鎮就變成了'Costa Geriatrica'； a coast with grey weather and rocks gets called the 'Costa del Concrete' or similar天氣陰灰、多岩石的海岸就被叫做'Costa del Concrete'之類的。

The humour depends on the gap between the sunny Spanish original and the far less glamorous place being described, so it is gently mocking and sounds odd if you say it with a straight face. This is a British newspaper habit above all — headlines, travel columns, jokes about the weather. It is capitalised and followed by a made-up second word that the writer invents on the spot, so you are meant to work out each one fresh.

The humour depends on the gap between the sunny Spanish original and the far less glamorous place being described笑點在於陽光西班牙原版跟被形容那個遠不夠光鮮的地方之間的落差， so it is gently mocking所以帶著溫和的調侃， and sounds odd if you say it with a straight face如果你一本正經地說出來會顯得很怪。 This is a British newspaper habit above all這主要是英國報紙的習慣—— headlines, travel columns, jokes about the weather像標題、旅遊專欄、天氣的玩笑話。 It is capitalised and followed by a made-up second word首字母大寫，後面接一個作者當場自創的第二個詞 that the writer invents on the spot（見上）， so you are meant to work out each one fresh所以每一個都要你自己當場猜出意思。

(Quite separately, Costa is a large British coffee-shop chain, and a common surname in Portugal, Spain, and Italy — same word, different uses.)

(Quite separately, Costa is a large British coffee-shop chain, and a common surname in Portugal, Spain, and Italy — same word, different uses.)（完全另外一回事，Costa也是英國一家大型連鎖咖啡店，也是葡萄牙、西班牙、義大利常見的姓氏——同一個字，不同的用法）