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Tirar a alguien de la lengua

 

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  #1  
Old November 05, 2009, 03:17 PM
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Lightbulb Tirar a alguien de la lengua

Tirar a alguien de la lengua means to make sb speak about sth secret or sth private by indirect means.
Do you know an equivalent in English?
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  #2  
Old November 06, 2009, 04:16 AM
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one that comes to mind is "to loosen up someone's tongue".

another, re: a secret, "to pry it out of him/her".

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Old October 24, 2010, 03:39 PM
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Incitare a parlare
egg someone up

Pienso que la mejor traducion sea esta

Last edited by Rusty; October 24, 2010 at 06:12 PM. Reason: merged back-to-back posts
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Old October 24, 2010, 03:58 PM
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I agree with the above.
(But I think that "egg somebody on to" is like "incitar a alguien" or "azuzar a alguien para...") (I.e., I believe the usual is "on" not "up" with "egg".)

There are other different nuances in the following examples,

tirarle o jalarle (de) la lengua a alguien:
hay que tirarle de la lengua para que te cuente nada = you have to drag everything out of him o you have to pump him, otherwise he doesn’t tell you anything;
Random House gives "pump"
pump 13. to question artfully or persistently to elicit information: to pump someone for confidential information.

sé mucho sobre tus negocios sucios así que no me tires de la lengua = I know a lot about your shady deals, so don’t provoke me …
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Old October 25, 2010, 01:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JPablo View Post
I agree with the above.
(But I think that "egg somebody on to" is like "incitar a alguien" or "azuzar a alguien para...") (I.e., I believe the usual is "on" not "up" with "egg".)

There are other different nuances in the following examples,

tirarle o jalarle (de) la lengua a alguien:
hay que tirarle de la lengua para que te cuente nada = you have to drag everything out of him o you have to pump him, otherwise he doesn’t tell you anything;
Random House gives "pump"
pump 13. to question artfully or persistently to elicit information: to pump someone for confidential information.

sé mucho sobre tus negocios sucios así que no me tires de la lengua = I know a lot about your shady deals, so don’t provoke me …
yes I meant on! Sorry!
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Old October 25, 2010, 09:35 AM
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Lollo Da dove sei? Mi piace tantissimo la tua lingua italiana.
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Old October 25, 2010, 03:35 PM
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Hey, Robin, are you trying to loosen up her tongue?

I couldn't resist the question... just to keep the thread on topic!
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Old November 01, 2010, 02:18 AM
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Hello!
Brought up in Naples, family in Tuscany (Arezzo).
Cheers
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Old November 01, 2010, 05:28 AM
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Thanks, nice place.
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