Ir a grano

[poli]

I know it meansto go to seed, but I suspect the significance of the phrase
is different. In English it means to become neglectful, to go bad. I Spanish, at least in the context I have read the meaning is different. Can someone clarify its meaning? Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

I know it meansto go to seed, but I suspect the significance of the phrase
is different. In English it means to become neglectful, to go bad. I Spanish, at least in the context I have read the meaning is different. Can someone clarify its meaning? Thanks.

As I understand it, it means to get to the point, both in English and Spanish. I have never understood it as becoming neglectful.

[poli]

Thanks Pericles.
Maybe my choice of words for go to seed is wrong, but I'm nearly positive the term go to seed has the same meaning in GB that it has in the US. A town that has got so seed has many shops closed on its main street and houses abandoned.
A man who has gone to seed with himself may not shave or bath or work.

Does this term have the same meaning in Britain?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

Thanks Pericles.
Maybe my choice of words for go to seed is wrong, but I'm nearly positive the term go to seed has the same meaning in GB that it has in the US. A town that has got so seed has many shops closed on its main street and houses abandoned.
A man who has gone to seed with himself may not shave or bath or work.

Does this term have the same meaning in Britain?

Yes, sorry, it does. I was confusing to go to seed with to get to the grain (of the matter). The second expression is ir al grano, but you put ir a grano which is - er - confusing (well it confused me).

[ookami]

I've never heard "ir a grano" before, and in google you can't find anything. "Ir al grano" yes, it's a every day expression, very very common and Perikles has pointed out it's meaning. "Deja de dar vueltas y ve al grano"

[Tomisimo]

As previously mentioned, ir al grano means to get to the point. So now the question is how do you say to go to seed in Spanish? Here's what it means:

to go to seed (literally) — This is when a plant has passed the stage where it produces fruit and now it is producing seeds, sort of at the end of it's life cycle. For example onion plants first produce the onion underground, but if you leave them there longer, they will "go to seed" and produce onion seeds. At this point, the onion underground may not be good to eat any more (not sure about that).

to go to seed (figuratively) — When anything is past its prime and is starting to decay or get run down, you can say it's going to seed or it's gone to seed. As Poli suggested: "Downtown has gone to seed" -- the downtown area is becoming run down and is past its prime.

So how do you say this in Spanish?

[poli]

That's a good question David. Maybe you can say volver cutre/ ponerse
sórdido.

[JPablo]

I think an idiomatic way to say it is "ir a menos" or "venirse a menos". (There may be other expressions with more "color".)

On "ir al grano" I believe in English there is another expression (maybe a bit more highbrow) get down to brass tacks, to begin to talk about important things; to get down to business.