Apr 13, 2023 21:20
1 yr ago
48 viewers *
Spanish term
Mexico
"llevar agua a su molino"
Spanish to English
Other
Environment & Ecology
This expression in Mexico means doing, saying, or arguing something to favor one's own interests, whether true, ethical, legal, or not.
What expression is there to be used in this sense in English?
I thought of "bringing grist to one's own mill", but I'm not sure the same unethical connotation would be understood.
What expression is there to be used in this sense in English?
I thought of "bringing grist to one's own mill", but I'm not sure the same unethical connotation would be understood.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 | to turn things to his advantage by/to turn things to one's own advantage/to feather its own nest |
O G V
|
| 2 | smart (smooth) operator |
Ana Vozone
|
Proposed translations
1 hr
Ana Vozone
Works in field
Will do!
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: European/Portugal) 
Works in: English to Portuguese, French to Portuguese, German to Portuguese, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
smart (smooth) operator
Declined
If you call someone a good operator, you mean that they are skilful at achieving what they want, often in a slightly dishonest way. [informal] He was a smart operator.
What does "Smart operator" mean?
A “smart operator” is someone who knows how to “work” people and/or the system. He/she is intelligent, but also sly, cunning, often charming. He/she gets the desired outcome by whatever means necessary, but does it with skill, speed, and through sometimes unusual channels. It’s done so well you don’t realize what he/she is doing.
What does "Smart operator" mean?
A “smart operator” is someone who knows how to “work” people and/or the system. He/she is intelligent, but also sly, cunning, often charming. He/she gets the desired outcome by whatever means necessary, but does it with skill, speed, and through sometimes unusual channels. It’s done so well you don’t realize what he/she is doing.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Andrew Bramhall
: Yes, but that's a noun whereas the sentence in question is a verbal phrase;
11 mins
|
32 mins
Spanish term (edited):
llevar agua a su molino
to turn things to his advantage by/to turn things to one's own advantage/to feather its own nest
to turn things to his advantage by...
to turn things to one's own advantage
to feather its own nest.
take advantage of the situation.
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Note added at 38 mins (2023-04-13 21:59:17 GMT)
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adaptaciones encontradas en
https://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/llevar a...
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/llevar-agua-a-su-mol...
otras
to twist it all to their advantage
Bring out all the skeletons in the cupboard
si el contexto lo permite, en tono crítico o peyorativo
feather his own nest
to make yourself rich, especially in a way that is unfair or dishonest. Rich and wealthy. advantaged.
FEATHER YOUR OWN NEST - Cambridge English Dictionary
si no, lo más neutro parece algo como
to turn things to his advantage by
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Note added at 43 mins (2023-04-13 22:03:58 GMT)
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feather one's (own) nest en español - Cambridge Dictionary
cambridge.org
https://dictionary.cambridge.org › ingles-espanol › fea...
traducir feather one's (own) nest: barrer para casa, hacer su agosto. Más información en el diccionario inglés-español.
llevar agua a su molino se antoja algo más suave, pero hay que verlo en contexto
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Note added at 4 days (2023-04-18 16:45:42 GMT)
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"I'm actually thinking about a literal translation: "draw water to their own mill"."
I don't recommend it, even it is found but seems a not localized and forced adaptation.
Twisting it all to their advantage seems a fine and precise way of saying it keeping the message and the being understood.
No hay que pretender adaptar todas las expresiones con frases hechas. Es mejor resultar claro y natural.
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Note added at 4 days (2023-04-18 16:49:24 GMT)
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¿o es que buscas una expresión o frase hecha equivalente?
entonces, va a depender del contexto y lo ideal sería proponer varias. La literal, no la veo para el caso.
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Note added at 6 days (2023-04-20 02:20:53 GMT)
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como propone allegro en el otro kudoz repetido
"bringing grist to one's own mill"
eso sí es idiomático, mira:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian-to-english/general-conver...
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Note added at 9 days (2023-04-23 16:20:14 GMT)
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Después de leer el párrafo completo yo optaría por lo que propone allegro en el otro kudoz repetido
"bringing grist to one's own mill". Por cierto, deberías sugerirle q lo proponga como respuesta.
No sé si se pueden combinar los dos kudoz en uno pero sería lo más acertado.
to turn things to one's own advantage
to feather its own nest.
take advantage of the situation.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2023-04-13 21:59:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
adaptaciones encontradas en
https://www.linguee.com/spanish-english/translation/llevar a...
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/llevar-agua-a-su-mol...
otras
to twist it all to their advantage
Bring out all the skeletons in the cupboard
si el contexto lo permite, en tono crítico o peyorativo
feather his own nest
to make yourself rich, especially in a way that is unfair or dishonest. Rich and wealthy. advantaged.
FEATHER YOUR OWN NEST - Cambridge English Dictionary
si no, lo más neutro parece algo como
to turn things to his advantage by
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 43 mins (2023-04-13 22:03:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
feather one's (own) nest en español - Cambridge Dictionary
cambridge.org
https://dictionary.cambridge.org › ingles-espanol › fea...
traducir feather one's (own) nest: barrer para casa, hacer su agosto. Más información en el diccionario inglés-español.
llevar agua a su molino se antoja algo más suave, pero hay que verlo en contexto
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2023-04-18 16:45:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"I'm actually thinking about a literal translation: "draw water to their own mill"."
I don't recommend it, even it is found but seems a not localized and forced adaptation.
Twisting it all to their advantage seems a fine and precise way of saying it keeping the message and the being understood.
No hay que pretender adaptar todas las expresiones con frases hechas. Es mejor resultar claro y natural.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2023-04-18 16:49:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
¿o es que buscas una expresión o frase hecha equivalente?
entonces, va a depender del contexto y lo ideal sería proponer varias. La literal, no la veo para el caso.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 days (2023-04-20 02:20:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
como propone allegro en el otro kudoz repetido
"bringing grist to one's own mill"
eso sí es idiomático, mira:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/italian-to-english/general-conver...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 days (2023-04-23 16:20:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Después de leer el párrafo completo yo optaría por lo que propone allegro en el otro kudoz repetido
"bringing grist to one's own mill". Por cierto, deberías sugerirle q lo proponga como respuesta.
No sé si se pueden combinar los dos kudoz en uno pero sería lo más acertado.
Note from asker:
| Thank you. Twisting it all to their advantage is the exact meaning I'm looking for, only wish a metaphor was readily available, to keep the original tone. Feather one's own nest has a financial connotation and I wouldn't want to imply that. I'm actually thinking about a literal translation: "draw water to their own mill". |
| Hasta ahora, creo que "to turn things to their advantage" es la opción más adecuada, sin embargo, en el contexto del evento narrado, no hay un beneficio tangible para quienes lo hacen, más allá de tener la razón y poder decir que siempre tuvieron la razón. |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Mary Gardner Hume
: without context it is hard to say, but feather one's own nest is a fair colloquilism
27 mins
|
|
tb es coloquial llevar agua a su molino, salvo que quieras decir que es vulgar. ya planteo que no es la mejor opción y hay otras más neutrales.
|
Discussion
"bringing grist to one's own mill", que parece la mejor respuesta.
No sé si se pueden combinar los dos kudoz en uno pero sería lo más acertado y que se llevara los puntos allegro. Es la mejor adaptación y transmite la idea a la perfección.
"Se han narrado muchas versiones sobre lo ocurrido; cada una con su propia perspectiva e interés. Aparecen posiciones encontradas, algunas auténticas, otras acomodadas para llevar agua a su molino."
and this my translation:
"Many versions have been told about what happened, each with their own perspective and interest. Conflicting positions appear, some authentic, others adapted (to draw water to their own mill)
So, the shorter version could be something like 'take care of number one' but the longer version needs a bit more than that to be equivalent.
https://eng.proz.com/siterules/kudoz_general/1.4#1.4