Patadura

[aleCcowaN]

Is there any short expression to say a person is "un patadura" ("stiff-legged" in dancing, like Ryan Gosling in LA LA Land) different than the extreme "having two left feet"?

[poli]

Two left feet is the only term I know that's similar. Otherwise awkward dancer, which of course is not an idiom, can be used. I think that, unlike tangueros argentinos, us anglos dance less since the death of disco, and for that reason, we're probably mostly pataduros with the exception of truly skilled show folk and other professionals.

[aleCcowaN]

Thank you, poli.


Is there some expression from the realm of sports? Un patadura is also the kind of player who aims at a ball and always kick it in a way it goes in an unintended direction.

[poli]

Are you familiar with the term clumsy? A clumsy dancer will step on toes. A clumsy soccer player will make unplanned things happen.

Also a good word is klutz. Klutz is probably the word you are looking for because it is somewhat idiomatic probably from German or Yiddish, but definitely known by anyone in the USA. It may not be as bad as two left feet, it surely refers to someone who is likely to stumble.

[aleCcowaN]

Yes, poli, thank you. I have thought about klutz in the beginning but I've heard it also used to describe a dumb person which is not the case with a "patadura", who is only unable to perform graceful movements.

I should resign myself to stop expecting every term and phrase in one language has an exact equivalent in the other one.

[poli]

Klutz does not imply stupidity. It implies awkwardness. If you drop something, you may say in a self-deprecating manner, I'm such a klutz.

[aleCcowaN]

Klutz means log in Yiddish, and in Argentina we use the same word (tronco) to describe a person who is unable to play sports, as the term describes a person who is clumsy and not agile at all.

[poli]

So, can tronco and patadura be used interchangeably sometimes?
Don't expect me to dance the tango. I'm such a klutz.
No esperes que baile el tango. Soy un tronco/patadura.

[aleCcowaN]

They might, but generally patadura is used with the dancing and tronco with the different sports. They evoke different images: a patadura moving limitedly and out of compass, as if his legs are sticking to the floor; a tronco reacting too late, lacking energy or simply standing there like a log, screwed to the floor, baffled by the plays around him.

[Sancho Panther]

Post #1

Not wishing to appear pedantic or offensive (it is a language learning forum!) but "Different than" is regarded as incorrect in the UK - 'different from' is the preferred usage on this side of the pond.

Although of course this may not apply in our former colony!