Ask a Question

(Create a thread)
Go Back   Spanish language learning forums > Spanish & English Languages > Vocabulary > Idioms & Sayings


Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos

 

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.


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old November 23, 2009, 04:30 PM
ROBINDESBOIS's Avatar
ROBINDESBOIS ROBINDESBOIS is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,040
ROBINDESBOIS is on a distinguished road
Lightbulb Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos

Este dicho significa que a veces hacemos bien a quien menos se lo merece, y que luego nos darán la espalda, o nos traicionarán.
ENGLISH?
Reply With Quote
   
Get rid of these ads by registering for a free Tomísimo account.
  #2  
Old November 23, 2009, 08:10 PM
Rusty's Avatar
Rusty Rusty is offline
Señor Speedy
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 11,299
Native Language: American English
Rusty has a spectacular aura aboutRusty has a spectacular aura about
Translation:
If you raise crows, they'll peck out your eyes.
Breed crows, and they'll take out your eyes.

A possible equivalent, but not an idiomatic expression:
You can take an animal out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of an animal.

Mira aquí. This is the closest fit I could find, but it only works if you take 'good intentions' out of it. We usually associate this saying with sowing bad acts and reaping the same in the end.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old November 24, 2009, 05:11 AM
ROBINDESBOIS's Avatar
ROBINDESBOIS ROBINDESBOIS is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,040
ROBINDESBOIS is on a distinguished road
Cría cuervos, is when you do sth in good faith and the other doesn´t thank you, or doesn´t care about it.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old November 24, 2009, 05:21 AM
poli's Avatar
poli poli is offline
rule 1: gravity
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: In and around New York
Posts: 7,810
Native Language: English
poli will become famous soon enoughpoli will become famous soon enough
Commonly we say: a thankless task and rarely refer to crows or other
creatures.
__________________
Me ayuda si corrige mis errores. Gracias.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old November 24, 2009, 05:28 AM
Sancho Panther's Avatar
Sancho Panther Sancho Panther is offline
Emerald
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Reino Unido
Posts: 522
Native Language: Inglés
Sancho Panther is on a distinguished road
I suppose a free, colloquial translation would be "Bring your children up badly and you'll suffer for it"; a similar British proverb would be "Spare the rod and ruin the child", but I expect that's unknown the other side of the pond.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old November 24, 2009, 07:38 AM
poli's Avatar
poli poli is offline
rule 1: gravity
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: In and around New York
Posts: 7,810
Native Language: English
poli will become famous soon enoughpoli will become famous soon enough
Oye Sancho,
The "spare- the- rod" phase is also known on this side, but the philosophy is out of style on both sides of the Atlantic.
__________________
Me ayuda si corrige mis errores. Gracias.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old November 25, 2009, 02:37 AM
sosia's Avatar
sosia sosia is offline
Ankh-Morpork's citizen
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: a 55 cm del monitor
Posts: 2,984
Native Language: Spanish (Spain)
sosia has a spectacular aura aboutsosia has a spectacular aura about
I still think "cria cuervos y te sacarán los ojos" is more "You can take an animal out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of an animal" that really "Bring your children up badly and you'll suffer for it" or "when you do sth in good faith and the other doesn´t thank you"

For me it has an old meaning of "what's natural it's natural", or that the effects of education are only in the surface"
The best example it's the scorpion fable
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

I also love a spanish sentence, refering to a good weapon or a good ham knife (cuchillo jamonero)
"cuidado con éste que no conoce ni a su padre"
Saludos
__________________
History, contrary to popular theories, "is" kings and dates and battles.
Small Gods Terry Pratchett

Last edited by sosia; November 25, 2009 at 05:29 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old November 01, 2013, 02:05 AM
mondelacruz mondelacruz is offline
Opal
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 1
mondelacruz is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by sosia View Post
I still think "cria cuervos y te sacarán los ojos" is more "You can take an animal out of the wild, but you can't take the wild out of an animal" that really "Bring your children up badly and you'll suffer for it" or "when you do sth in good faith and the other doesn´t thank you"

For me it has an old meaning of "what's natural it's natural", or that the effects of education are only in the surface"
The best example it's the scorpion fable
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

I also love a spanish sentence, refering to a good weapon or a good ham knife (cuchillo jamonero)
"cuidado con éste que no conoce ni a su padre"
Saludos
I know this from being passed on through my family and my friends' families (Cadiz, Andaluz, Spain) but, when we hear the expression, "cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos," we are flooded with connotations of a person behaving badly towards their parents but it being the parents fault. When someone says, "You can take the animal out of the wild but you can't take the wild out of the animal," the implication is that you just can't change some behaviors in people, and eventually they will do what they will do, no matter how much you tried to change them or stop them. But "Cría Cuervos" (Raising Crows) isn't implying that someone is attempting to change a person from being who they are. If you were a crow, what kind of offspring would you produce? That's right - crows. and if you raise crows, then expect them to behave like crows, and expect that to come back and bite you in the ass.

The part, "te sacarán los ojos," is the warning to that crow that if it "continues to be a crow," then they will raise crows and those crows will behave like crows. And pecking is what crows do, and they will peck anything, including their own parents

I would say that the closest thing in English would be a non-formal saying, "Don't let Karma bite you."

violent parents raise violent children; they teach their children to fight and to be aggressive. but let those parents be warned; sometimes the violent children they raise may use those same violent things they learned against the parents. Hence, if you raise crows, expect the possibility that they may act like crows - with you, which includes the possibility of getting your eyes pecked out.

Last edited by mondelacruz; November 01, 2013 at 02:18 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old November 01, 2013, 06:26 AM
ROBINDESBOIS's Avatar
ROBINDESBOIS ROBINDESBOIS is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 4,040
ROBINDESBOIS is on a distinguished road
Interesting and good explanation. i never heard the karme expression before.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old November 01, 2013, 07:03 AM
Perikles's Avatar
Perikles Perikles is offline
Diamond
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Tenerife
Posts: 4,814
Native Language: Inglés
Perikles is on a distinguished road
Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS View Post
Interesting and good explanation. i never heard the karme expression before.
Karma!
Reply With Quote
Reply

 

Link to this thread
URL: 
HTML Link: 
BB Code: 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Site Rules

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Hay ojos que se enamoran de legañas ROBINDESBOIS Idioms & Sayings 3 October 24, 2009 08:22 AM
Sus ojos me pierden ROBINDESBOIS Idioms & Sayings 3 October 08, 2009 03:43 PM
Hacer los ojos chibiritas ROBINDESBOIS Idioms & Sayings 3 September 24, 2009 02:36 PM
Ojos que no ven corazon que no siente mcallah2 Idioms & Sayings 1 August 28, 2008 09:22 PM


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:34 AM.

Forum powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.

X