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Three against one

 

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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  #1  
Old November 10, 2016, 06:27 PM
Glen Glen is offline
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Three against one

When I put forward an opinion and my three friends disagree with it I say "three against one." Somewhere I recall hearing tres al mohino but looking up mohino I don't see how it fits. True or not?
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  #2  
Old November 10, 2016, 07:11 PM
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You're using part of an ancient proverb - 'dos a dos y tres al mohíno. When someone gets mad in a conversation or a game, all of sudden everyone else is against the person that's mad. You'll also find it said 'dos al mohíno' when fewer people are involved.
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Old November 10, 2016, 07:18 PM
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Ah, thanks. Now why the accent in mohino?
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Old November 10, 2016, 07:21 PM
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The 'h' is silent. Without the accented vowel, you'd have a diphthong (a two-syllable word instead of the three-syllable word I'm sure you're saying).
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Old November 10, 2016, 07:23 PM
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Good point, Rusty, thanks again.
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Old November 10, 2016, 07:35 PM
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You're welcome.

Just for giggles, check out the difference between the noun and the verb below, using IPA symbols.
vehículo (noun: vehicle) /beˈikulo/
vehiculo (verb: I'm acting as an intermediary) /beiˈkulo/
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Old November 10, 2016, 10:00 PM
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In my childhood we used to say, "se acentúa para destruir el diptongo"... ;-)
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Old November 11, 2016, 12:00 AM
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Indeed: the diphthong is "destroyed" because the accent turns a "weak vowel" into a "strong vowel" and two strong vowels never make a diphthong.

Strong vowels: a - e - o
Weak vowels: i - u - (y)


Strong-strong => hiatus
- a·e·ro·pla·no
- ca·os
- pe·le·a
- le·ón -> This hiatus is not introduced by the accent; the accent is necessary because this is a two-syllable "palabra aguda" that ends in "n".
- bo·a
- a·lo·e

Weak-weak => diphthong
- diur·no
- cui·da·do
- muy

Weak-strong => diphthong
- I·ta·lia
- die·ta
- ca·na·rio
- cua·li·dad
- nue·vo
- va·cuo

Strong-weak => diphthong
- frai·le
- rei·na
- co·loi·dal
- au·men·to
- feu·dal
- hay
- rey
- doy

Accented strong - strong => hiatus
- ha·rí·a
- guí·a·me
- tí·o
- pú·a
- ce·bú·es
- bú·ho

Strong - accented strong => hiatus
- a·hí
- le·í·a -> notice the double hiatus
- o·í
- ba·úl
- re·hú·sa·te
- mo·hí·no


Weak - accented strong = hiatus
- cu·í·da·lo
- hu·í·mos


_____


- in·ge·nie·rí·a
- za·na·ho·ria
- a·e·ro·puer·to


_____
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Old November 11, 2016, 08:01 AM
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Red face

All good points. I'll remember to place accents where they belong, since I obviously overlooked the fact that h is silent. What would I do without this forum?
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