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More ___ than you could shake a stick at

 

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not readily apparent based on the individual words in the expression. This forum is dedicated to discussing idioms and other sayings.


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Old August 22, 2010, 06:55 PM
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Question More ___ than you could shake a stick at

shake a stick at, more ___ than you could: many more things or people than one is able to count; a large quantity or great amount of something. A stick is often used as a weapon that is waved as a warning to an enemy. If the enemy greatly outnumbers one, there could be so many that one couldn’t threaten all of them with a single stick.

How would you translate the above expression?
A simple one could be, 'm
ás ___ de los que podrías contar', but that sounds a little bit more 'bland' than the original, ie., while it is not bad conceptually, loses a bit its 'color'...

Any ideas?

As I wrote my post I remembered this Spanish expression...,
Para parar un tren (inf.). En gran abundancia: ‘Aquí hay suciedad para parar un tren’.
Although now that I just wrote it, and see the conceptual similarity, doesn't quite go, with the original expression...

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Last edited by JPablo; August 22, 2010 at 06:59 PM. Reason: Remembered one expression in Spanish.
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  #2  
Old August 28, 2010, 12:58 PM
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...a montones,
...a parvas,
...a carretadas/carradas (según país),
...a mares,
...para tirar (p')al techo,
...para tener y guardar (cosas),
...tanta/os ... que mete/n miedo.

¿alguna sirve?
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Old August 28, 2010, 01:36 PM
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Muchas gracias Alec.
Creo que varias de ellas se pueden usar. (Para España "a montones/carretadas" quizá sea lo más usado.)
"Para tener y guardar" (que se entiende pero que yo no había usado u oído mucho) me recuerda a la expresión "para tomar y dejar".
(No sé como dejaré mi traducción al final, pero tus sugerencias son muy valiosas.) Gracias una vez más.
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Old August 28, 2010, 04:31 PM
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Sólo para añadir a la lista unas variantes coloquiales mexicanas:
...para/pa' aventar para/pa' arriba.
...para dar y regalar.
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Old August 28, 2010, 04:44 PM
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¡Gracias, Angélica!
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Lo propio de la verdad es que se basta a sí misma, aquel que la posee no intenta convencer a nadie.
"An enemy is somebody who flatters you. A friend is somebody who criticizes the living daylights out of you."
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