Sacar lasca

[poli]

I'm not sure if this is a cubanismo. Is anyone familiar with the term? I think it means to earn a living. Lascas are pebbles, and I think it may have something to do with figuratively panning for gold and finding a nugget here and there to get by. Here's the quote where I found the phrase: Yo me quiero ir de aqui para repetir la historia de mis ancestros, pero al revés: a esto no hay por donde sacarle lasca.

[Elaina]

According to RAE:

lasca.

(Del a. al. ant. laska).


1. f. Trozo pequeño y delgado desprendido de una piedra.

2. f. And. lonja (‖ cosa larga, ancha y poco gruesa que se corta de otra).
3. f. ant. lancha1.


I'm thinking maybe the first or second meaning. I couldn't find anything under Cuban Sayings that contained that word. Maybe someone else has a good response to your question.

[Rusty]

I've found several places on the Internet where the idiomatic expression is used, and it does appear to be mostly Cuban. I don't think it means what you've surmised, though.

lasca = stone chip

Here's an excerpt from a Cuban that hints at the meaning:

Hay algo, que muchos desconocen de la idiosincracia cubana. Es algo a lo que solemos definir como “sacarle lasca a todo”. De todo, hacemos un chiste. De todo, nos reímos. De tanto que lo hacemos, pues hasta de nuestra propia sombra nos carcajeamos también.

It kind of sounds like it means to make light of according to this definition.

[Cecile83]

Sacar lasca means to take a slice from, as in carving a piece of meat like ham or turkey.
In your quoted passage he/she doesn't know how/where to start/plan his move. I'm pretty sure that's what it means. I hope it helps!

Originally Posted by poli

I'm not sure if this is a cubanismo. Is anyone familiar with the term? I think it means to earn a living. Lascas are pebbles, and I think it may have something to do with figuratively panning for gold and finding a nugget here and there to get by. Here's the quote where I found the phrase: Yo me quiero ir de aqui para repetir la historia de mis ancestros, pero al revés: a esto no hay por donde sacarle lasca.

[Tomisimo]

Good information Cecile! Do you happen to be a native Spanish speaker?

I asked a Mexican about this phrase. First of all, this isn't a phrase/idiom that he was familiar with, so I don't think it's used (much) in Mexico. But pressing him for an answer, he said that from the context, he would take it to mean that there was no way of stopping what the person is going to do-- in other words the fact that the person is going to repeat his ancestors' history is inevitable. But take this with a grain of salt because he was not familiar with this saying.

Once we confirm a meaning for this, it can go in the idiom dictionary.

[Cecile83]

I have many Cuban friends and have heard similar expressions like this one. For instance, "métele el diente", "Métele mano" are idiomatic expressions relating to start something, or go for it. Sacar lasca would mean something close to the above; where to start carving at the situation or plans.
Taking it from context, the person saying this is willing to do what his/her ancestors have done, which is leave where ever he/she is at, "pero al reves" leads me to believe that he/she is trying to find a way to "carve" out his/her plans to do it. Again, this is just my understading of this passage.

[sosia]

"a esto no hay por donde sacarle lasca"
esta frase la entiendo como "a esto no hay por donde sacarle provecho", es parecido a
"a esto no hay por donde cogerlo","a esto no ha por donde meterle mano", como dice Cecile83.
Si fuese
"Yo me quiero ir de aqui para repetir la historia de mis ancestros, pero al revés: a esto no hay por donde sacarle lasca."
Un posible opción es:
Mis ancestros vinieron de Europa a Cuba/América para poder vivir. Ahora yo tengo que hacer al revés, tengo que volver a Europa para poder vivir, ya que aquí no se puede vivir ("no tengo cómo vivir aquí, no puedo sacarle provecho")
Ahora, con la crisis, les está ocurriendo lo mismo a mucha gente, el pais donde soñaban triunfar está en crisis y no hay donde agarrarse, por lo que hay que volver a casa.

Saludos

[Cubanboy]

Hola a todos.
Ya Sosia hizo una explicación muy buena de lo que significa:
''Sacarle lasca a algo'' y secundo su versión.
Ahora en el contexto de poli:

Yo me quiero ir de aqui para repetir la historia de mis ancestros, pero al revés: a esto no hay por donde sacarle lasca.


En este caso la persona quiere decir que ''esto no tiene remedio/solución'' (o que ha perdido toda esperanza) y decide irse del país.



*Rusty, espero haber contribuido con esta respuesta.
Saludos.