clavar

To nail or drive something sharp in (clavar un clavo, clavar los dientes) and, very commonly in colloquial speech, "to nail it" (la clavó, she nailed it) or, in several countries, the opposite sense of "to rip someone off" (me clavaron con el precio).

• Clavó el cuadro en la pared con un martillo. — He nailed the picture to the wall with a hammer.
• La clavó en el examen, sacó la nota más alta. — She nailed the exam, she got the highest grade.
• Me clavaron con el precio del taxi. — They ripped me off on the taxi fare.

Clavar's slang senses ("to nail it" vs. "to rip someone off") are opposite in tone but both very common — context (a performance vs. a price/transaction) is what tells them apart, not the verb itself.

Often confused with acertar.

• song Clavado en un Bar — Maná's lead single from their 1997 album Sueños Líquidos — a major reggae-rock hit and one of the band's best-known songs, its title built directly on the past participle of clavar.