#11  
Old May 19, 2008, 11:59 AM
Alfonso Alfonso is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomisimo View Post
Fue un palo enorme. Iban a casarse y se quedó sin novia.
It was a huge disappointment/It was a big letdown. They were going to get married and she left him.

Me cayeron palos de todas partes. Tengo la espalda señalada.
I can't really think of a good translation for this. Maybe:
People started hitting me from all sides. I'm a marked man.

No quiero ir a esa fiesta. No conozco a nadie. Me da palo.
I don't want to go to the party. I won't know anyone there and I'll feel totally out of place.
I found out Me cayeron palos... is not so easy as it seems to be. I think the difficulty is in ... tengo la espalda señalada. Do you distinguish in English between marks and signals?


I Spanish you could say:
  • Tengo la espalda llena de marcas.
  • Tengo la espalda llena de señales.
Meaning both that your back is injured by the hits you have received. So, its nuance is physical. Knowing this, how would you translate Tengo la espalda señalada into English.

Thanks for your help!
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  #12  
Old May 19, 2008, 12:22 PM
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poli poli is offline
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La espalda llena de señales/marcas doesn't translate to English well.

You can say the following phrase: He's a marked man. This means a man with a bad reputation--a convict perhaps. This probably term probably has biblical origins. (The mark of Kane).

I think you would translate Me cayeron palos de todas partes. Tengo la espalda señalada can be translated in the following way: I've been attacked by all sides. I'm scarred. (This can be a literal or a metaphorical attack)

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Last edited by poli; May 19, 2008 at 12:30 PM.
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  #13  
Old May 19, 2008, 12:38 PM
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Tomisimo Tomisimo is offline
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In English, marked can be both figurative and literal. You could say he has marks on his back and they would be literal, physical marks. But if you say he's a marked man, it's a figurative usage, and not necessarily saying that he physically has marks on himself.

Maybe a translation could be:

Sometimes I feel like I have a sign that says "kick me" on my back.
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  #14  
Old May 19, 2008, 12:39 PM
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Quote:
This term probably has biblical origins. (The mark of Kane).
It's Cain not Kane
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  #15  
Old May 19, 2008, 12:43 PM
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Oh, that's right. I was thinking of the movie Citizen Kane. Cain is the name.
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  #16  
Old May 19, 2008, 12:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poli View Post
Oh, that's right. I was thinking of the movie Citizen Kane. Cain is the name.
If it were my name, I'd prefer Kane. I think it looks better.
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  #17  
Old May 19, 2008, 12:56 PM
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Both of them were pretty dark characters.
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