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The last person that qualifies to tell me this

 

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  #1  
Old January 22, 2014, 03:05 AM
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The last person that qualifies to tell me this

Situation:

Peter and John are brothers. John is notoriously for laziness. One day, John says Peter should not be so lazy; What natural English would Peter use to hit back? Can this?:

-You're the last person that qualifies to tell me this!
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  #2  
Old January 22, 2014, 06:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xinfu View Post
Situation:

Peter and John are brothers. John is notoriously for laziness. One day, John says Peter should not be so lazy; What natural English would Peter use to hit back? Can this?:

-You're the last person that qualifies to tell me this!
Yes, you can say that. It's very high tone. A lower, and perhaps more common way of saying this is: You of all people telling me that I'm lazy.

I would like to know good ways of saying this in Spanish.
My guess: Me choca que me dices eso una persona tan perezoso como tú
...or maybe it translates directly.
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  #3  
Old January 22, 2014, 06:38 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poli View Post
I would like to know good ways of saying this in Spanish.
My guess: Me choca que me dices diga eso una persona tan perezosa como tú.
Although Xinfu is learning English rather than Spanish, with the slight correction that's a good colloquial way to say it, Poli. At least in Mexico... I don't know if other regions use "chocarle algo a alguien" with this meaning.
You could also say something like "mira quién habla".
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Old January 22, 2014, 08:02 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Xinfu View Post
Situation:

Peter and John are brothers. John is notoriously for laziness. One day, John says Peter should not be so lazy; What natural English would Peter use to hit back? Can this?:

-You're the last person that qualifies to tell me this!
Wouldn't in English better to say?

You're the last person that is qualified to tell me this.


Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar View Post
Although Xinfu is learning English rather than Spanish, with the slight correction that's a good colloquial way to say it, Poli. At least in Mexico... I don't know if other regions use "chocarle algo a alguien" with this meaning.
You could also say something like "mira quién habla".
Choca se usa en Chile también. Mira quién habla es la mejor traducción coloquial.

La traducción literal no debiera ser?

Me choca que me diga eso una persona tan perezosa como yo.

o

Me choca que me diga eso una persona más perezosa que yo.
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Old January 22, 2014, 09:47 AM
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If by "natural English" you mean "idiomatic" (as opposed to "transparent in meaning"), the phrase which I think is most applicable is "The pot called the kettle black". (Both a pot and a kettle sit on the fire, and so they both acquire a layer of carbon).

Quote:
Originally Posted by chileno View Post
In English wouldn't it be better to say?

You're the last person that is qualified to tell me this.
Yes. Better still, "You're the least qualified person to tell me this."
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  #6  
Old January 22, 2014, 09:57 AM
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Chileno,
Se puede decirlo así tambien, pero lo que escribió Xinfu sirve.

Angélica,
Voy a echar la culpa de todos mis errores a la hora en que escribí la respuesta y aquí la Nevada y frio me tiene alborotado.
El verbo chocar se usa en el Caribe en esta vaina tambien, porque en mi estado los carbeños predominen aunque los mexicanos están ganando y fue por caribeños que aprendí el español.
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Old January 22, 2014, 10:01 AM
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No hay problema, Poli, que aquí mi cerebro está entumido a 18ºC.

Por cierto, tenemos otro dicho coloquial (que creo que también compartimos en varias regiones): El burrito hablando de orejas (largas).
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  #8  
Old January 22, 2014, 10:36 AM
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John has no room to speak.

Peter could also say, "Look who's talking!"
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Old January 22, 2014, 11:45 AM
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Got it. Thank you.
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  #10  
Old January 23, 2014, 01:08 AM
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There is an idiom in English that fits here. "The pot is calling the kettle black."

It means, the pot is criticizing the kettle for being black, but the pot is also black.

In your case, John is calling Peter lazy, but John is also lazy.

But this is very idiomatic!
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