Where does the word “tico or tica” come from?

Costa Ricans (Ticos) are always gentle, spirited, friendly, educated, polite, and kind people. Always ready to lend a hand to visitors from other countries and treat them well. In Costa Rica you can expect to be made welcome wherever you go. A notable idiosyncrasy here is creating diminutives with -ico instead of -ito (e.g., un poquitico)—hence the words Tico and Tica to describe Costa Rican men and women. Ticos are said to have an odd way of pronouncing the R at the beginning of a word, as in Rica—the R is never rolled or trilled. All in all, rest assured that if your español is not buenísimo, most Costa Ricans will speak slow, proper Spanish to you.

Some Typical Tico Words & Phrases:

• Ahora, ahorita: Literally means now, right now but for ticos it is later, in a few hours.

• Birra: Slang for beer

• Boca: Literally means «mouth,» but also a term to describe a small appetizer served alongside a drink at many bars

• Bomba: Translates literally as «pump,» but is used in Costa Rica for «gas station»

• Brete: Work, or job

• Buena nota: Right on, nice person, sometimes used instead of thank you.

• Casado: Traditional lunch with meat, rice, beans, salad (literally “married,” suggesting this is the kind of lunch a married man brings to work)

• Chapa: Derogatory way to call someone stupid or clumsy

• Chepe: Slang term for the capital city, San José

• Choza: Slang for house or home. Also called chante

• Chunche: Knickknack; thing, device.

• Cien metros: 100 meters, or one block

• Con gusto, Con mucho gusto: You’re welcome, with pleasure (usually it comes after gracias – Thank you)

• De hoy en ocho: In 1 week’s time

• Diay!!: An untranslatable but common linguistic punctuation, often used to begin a sentence. Can mean “Gosh,” “Well,” or “Wow.”, What happened? So?

• Estar de chicha: To be angry, not in the mood

• Fria: Literally «cold,» but used to mean a cold beer—una fria, por favor

• Fut: Short for fútbol, or soccer

• Goma: Hangover

• Harina: Literally «flour,» but used to mean money

• La sele: Short for La Selección, the Costa Rican national soccer team

• Limpio: Literally means «clean,» but is the local term for being broke, or having no money

• Macha or machita: A blond woman

• Mae: Translates like «man» or «dude»; used by many Costa Ricans, particularly teenagers, as frequent verbal punctuation

• Maje: A lot like mae, above, but with a slightly derogatory connotation

• Mala nota: Bummer, bad person, bad vibes

• Mala pata: Bad luck

• Mejenga: An informal, or pickup, soccer game

• Pachanga or pelón: Both terms are used to signify a big party or gathering.

• Ponga la maría, por favor: This is how you ask taxi drivers to turn on the meter.

• Pulpería: The Costa Rican version of the «corner store» or small market.

• Pura paja: Pure nonsense, trash talk, liar.

• Pura vida!: Literally, «pure life»; translates as «everything’s great.»

• Qué torta!: What a mess! what a screw-up!

• Si Dios quiere: God willing; you’ll hear Ticos say this all the time.

• Soda: A casual diner-style restaurant serving cheap Tico meals

• Tico: Costa Rican

• Tiquicia: means Costa Rica

• Tuanis: Most excellent, cool, great (derived from too nice)

• Una teja: 100 colones

• Un rojo: 1,000 colones

• Un tucán: 5,000 colones

• Upe!: Common shout to find out if anyone is home; used frequently since doorbells are so scarce.

• Zarpe: Last drink of the night, or «one more for the road»

https://www.frommers.com/destinations/costa-rica/in-depth/language