Nov 6, 2021 19:02
2 yrs ago
34 viewers *
Spanish term
United States
el burro del salón
Spanish to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
current affairs
This seems to be a fairly common expression, at least in Mexican Spanish, although one I hadn't run across before.
It's from an opinion piece in a Mexican newspaper, which talks about the close US-Mexico economic & social ties, but then about how Mexico did not show up at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow prepared to be a committed participant.
Here's the paragraph in which the phrase occurs:
"El presidente de México cambió las reglas a las empresas que invirtieron en generación de energía limpia deteniendo su avance, y dejando al país sin la necesaria inversión extranjera que dinamice su economía. En lugar de que la nación aproveche su potencial para ser vanguardia en energía solar, se enrarece el ambiente de negocios y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."
I think I have a pretty good sense of the meaning of the phrase, but I haven't come up with an equivalent idiomatic expression in English.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
It's from an opinion piece in a Mexican newspaper, which talks about the close US-Mexico economic & social ties, but then about how Mexico did not show up at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow prepared to be a committed participant.
Here's the paragraph in which the phrase occurs:
"El presidente de México cambió las reglas a las empresas que invirtieron en generación de energía limpia deteniendo su avance, y dejando al país sin la necesaria inversión extranjera que dinamice su economía. En lugar de que la nación aproveche su potencial para ser vanguardia en energía solar, se enrarece el ambiente de negocios y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."
I think I have a pretty good sense of the meaning of the phrase, but I haven't come up with an equivalent idiomatic expression in English.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | elephant in the room |
neilmac
|
| 3 +5 | the ass in the class |
AllegroTrans
|
| 4 +1 | the school dunce wearing a cone hat in the corner |
Adrian MM.
|
Proposed translations
31 mins
Selected
elephant in the room
First thing that sprang to mind. Defined by Webster as "an obvious major problem or issue that people avoid discussing or acknowledging".
An option that might also go with "al que nadie se quiere acercar" could be "hot potato"
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Note added at 35 mins (2021-11-06 19:38:14 GMT)
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Another option could be "pariah"1.
an outcast.
"they were treated as social pariahs"
Similar:
outcast
persona non grata
leper
reject
untouchable
undesirable
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Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:39:40 GMT)
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"y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."
->
"and shows México up as***the pariah” *** that nobody wants to get close to."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:40:13 GMT)
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https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/show up
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Note added at 38 mins (2021-11-06 19:41:16 GMT)
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In fact, "persona non grata" may now be my favourite option, as I'm partial to a bit of Latin now and then :-)
An option that might also go with "al que nadie se quiere acercar" could be "hot potato"
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2021-11-06 19:38:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Another option could be "pariah"1.
an outcast.
"they were treated as social pariahs"
Similar:
outcast
persona non grata
leper
reject
untouchable
undesirable
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:39:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."
->
"and shows México up as***the pariah” *** that nobody wants to get close to."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:40:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/show up
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2021-11-06 19:41:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
In fact, "persona non grata" may now be my favourite option, as I'm partial to a bit of Latin now and then :-)
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Juan Jacob
: Equiparar un burro con un elefante no me parece adecuado. Un burro es simplemente un tonto. Y como no es una "expresión común" en México, no veo impedimento alguno para traducir textualmente. Nada que ver con paria o papa caliente.
15 mins
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Discrepo. "Persona non grata" y "pariah" = "al que nadie se quiere acercar."
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| agree |
Muriel Vasconcellos
17 mins
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Cheers Mu, stay safe ;)
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| neutral |
Jennifer Levey
: 'elephant in the room' refers to a topic that no one wants to talk about because it makes them uneasy (as does the mere fact that they are uneasy about it...). That's not the sense of the ST.
28 mins
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Which part of my Webster's definition did you fail to spot? And what about the REST of my suggestions?
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think we didn't really come up with an exact English equivalent of the idiomatic expression in the ST. I don't think "elephant in the room" is quite right in this context. But "persona non grata" seems to me to be closer here."
+5
2 hrs
AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Sensible solutions
Native in: English (Variant: Wessexois) 
Works in: French to English, English, English to French
Related KudoZ points
:
16
the ass in the class
Putting a bit of alliteration into it
I Put The Ass In Class
Song by GrizzleyMusik
Available on
Spotify
YouTube Music
Apple Music
Deezer
Artist: GrizzleyMusik
Album: I Put The Ass In Class
Released: 2021
Feedback
put the ass in the class | WordReference Forums
https://forum.wordreference.com › ... › English Only
9 Feb 2014 · 3 posts · 3 authors
Ass means someone who is mean, stupid, and/or arrogant. It is similar to "you're an ass". It depends on the context in those phrases. It is a ...
I Put The Ass In Class
Song by GrizzleyMusik
Available on
Spotify
YouTube Music
Apple Music
Deezer
Artist: GrizzleyMusik
Album: I Put The Ass In Class
Released: 2021
Feedback
put the ass in the class | WordReference Forums
https://forum.wordreference.com › ... › English Only
9 Feb 2014 · 3 posts · 3 authors
Ass means someone who is mean, stupid, and/or arrogant. It is similar to "you're an ass". It depends on the context in those phrases. It is a ...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Juan Jacob
: Y con rima... me gusta.
7 mins
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thanks
|
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| agree |
philgoddard
: Good idea.
21 mins
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thanks
|
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| agree |
anademahomar
: Excellent!
1 hr
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thanks
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| agree |
Jennifer Levey
: Even better when spoken with a contrived 'home-counties' accent (arse rhymes with class).
1 hr
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Well if asker uses this it will be probaly be read in USA, but thanks aawwfully!
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| agree |
neilmac
: I'm fond of rhymes, at the best of times, so have an agree, this Sunday, from me :-)
12 hrs
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Your praises are kind, blow my mind, so go on your way and have a great day
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+1
5 hrs
Adrian MM.
Austria
Austria
Native in English
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
the school dunce wearing a cone hat in the corner
as per anademahomar, Honduras, and who beat me to it, that is if also used in the US of A.
Example sentence:
"El Más Burro del Salón", Me envolvió con sus relatos y experiencias, me llamó la atención el título y la forma en que expresó su sentir sobre sus experiencias escolares, me hizo reflexionar sobre mi labor como docente
Nowadays dunces are often shown wearing paper cone hats and in less enlightened educational times schoolchildren were sometimes made to wear a dunce cap and sit on a stool in the corner as a form of humiliating punishment for misbehaving or for failing to
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Simone Taylor
: Dunce is the correct term not ass.
1 day 19 hrs
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obrigado and thanks. Adolf H. also happened to be one in Austria, but of course kept quiet about it.
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Discussion