The Spanish expression “Tener mucha cara” means:
To have a lot of nerve
Hence the phrase:
Ese chico tiene mucha cara, y no le da verguenza lo que hace
Could be translated as:
That boy has some nerve and is not ashamed of what he does
Spanish
24
Apr 07
Tener mucha cara
21
Apr 07
Puntualidad Británica!!
Source: El País Online
In the article entitled El año que el AVE sedujo a los españoles, I came accross the expression “una puntualidad británica”.
Ha habido algún accidente, algún intento de atentado, pero nadie ha resultado herido en el AVE en estos 15 años, en los que Renfe puede alardear de una puntualidad británica
Initially, I couldn´t quite believe what I was reading. You see, “puntualidad británica” supposedly means:
British punctuality, to arrive on time
To the british reader, this just simply does not make sense. In fact, I had to go back several times and check that my eyes hadn´t deceived me. What the Spanish are doing is comparing their increasingly punctual trains to the apparently “exemplar” running of british railways. Since when has Britain been a good example? Our railways are a nightmare and the majority of trains certainly do not arrive on time. I think the expression should be changed to something more realistic, how about “puntualidad francesa, alemana, suiza o japonesa”. Any of these four would be much more appropriate and would clear up any doubts on the matter!
As for the overall translation:
There´s been the odd accident or attempted terrorist attack, but nobody has been injured in the AVE in the last 15 years – during which Renfe can boast about its “British punctuality”.
20
Apr 07
Poner de Relieve
Source: El Paìs Online
In the article entitled Amnistía Internacional denuncia el “espectacular” aumento en el número de ejecuciones en Irak, I came across the expression “poner de relieve”.
La organización pone de relieve que, desde la restitución de la pena de muerte a mediados de 2004, más de 270 personas han sido condenadas a la pena máxima y al menos un centenar han sido ejecutadas.
“Poner de relieve” means:
To underline, to highlight
Hence we can translate the above phrase as:
The organization highlights that, since the restitution of the death penalty in the middle of 2004, more than 270 people have been condemned to the maximum penalty and at least 100 have been executed.
17
Apr 07
Spanish Food Idioms
I was recently assigned some Spanish homework where I had to translate some Spanish idioms which were related to food. Some of them were quite tricky to find so I though I´d write a post to help others out as well as to serve as a reference for myself.
Darle Calabazas (a alguien) = To turn somebody down, to give someone the cold shoulder, to reject somebody
Dar las uvas (a alguien) = To keep somebody waiting
Nos van a dar las uvas = We’ll be here till the cows come home.
Darse (alguien= una piña/torta (a alguien) = To have a crash (if in a car context)
Dar una torta (a alguien) = To smack somebody
Estar (alguien) como un fideo = To be as slim as a rake
Importar un pimiento (a alguien) = To not give a damn
No me importa un pimiento = I don’t give a damn!
Irse (alguien)/mandar (a alguien) a freir morcilla/espárragos = To tell someone to get lost, to go to hell
Pedirle peras al olmo = To expect the impossible, to ask for the moon
Ser (algo) del año de la pera = To be out of the ark
Ponerse (alguien) como una sopa = To get drenched
Ponerse (alguien) como un tomate = To blush
Sacarle (a alguien) las castañas del fuego = To save someones bacon
Ser (algo) pan comido = To be a piece of cake, a doddle
Ser (alguien= un melón = To be stupid/dumb/thick
Tener (alguien) mala leche/uva = To be ill willed or nasty