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What in the world?

 

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.


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  #1  
Old January 01, 2012, 08:57 AM
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What in the world?

¿Cómo se dice "What in the world??" o "What the heck?" en español?

Here's a scenario: I'm at the bank and it is taking FOREVER for someone to get to my transaction in the drive-thru and I want to say "What in the world is going on? What the heck? (Some may say "What the hell")...

Is there something other than "¿Qué diablos?"
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Old January 01, 2012, 09:31 AM
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¡¿Qué demonios?!

This, like the other phrase you listed, translates from the mild 'What the heck'/'What in the world' to the coarser translation you gave.

You can use this phrase as a question or exclamatory, by itself, or in a sentence with or without 'por' or 'para'.

Last edited by Rusty; January 01, 2012 at 04:16 PM. Reason: changed diablos to demonios, the original intention
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Old January 01, 2012, 10:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rusty View Post
¡¿Qué demonios?!

This, like the other phrase you listed, translates from the mild 'What the heck'/'What in the world' to the coarser translation you gave.

You can use this phrase as a question or exclamatory, by itself, or in a sentence with or without 'por' or 'para'.
Is there a different phrase that could be used? Does the translation (ranging from mild to coarser) change just based on the tone of voice used?

Last edited by Rusty; January 01, 2012 at 04:17 PM. Reason: changes quoted material to match my editted version
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Old January 01, 2012, 01:55 PM
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For "¡¿Qué diablos?!" and "¡¿Qué miércoles?!" (an euphemism for "¡¿Que m*****?!, the latter meaning "What the f***?!" itself) that are just a bit milder than "What the hell?!" you may use a lot of euphemisms (like "What the heck is going on?" or "What on earth is going on?):

¡Caramba! ¿Qué está pasando?
¿Qué cuernos pasa?
¿Qué diantres pasa?
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Old January 01, 2012, 02:12 PM
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Also: "¿Qué demonios?", and of course some swearwords...
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Old January 01, 2012, 11:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by aleCcowaN View Post
For "¡¿Qué diablos?!" and "¡¿Qué miércoles?!" (an a euphemism for "¡¿Que m*****?!, the latter meaning "What the f***?!" itself) that are just a bit milder than "What the hell?!" you may use a lot of euphemisms (like "What the heck is going on?" or "What on earth is going on?):

¡Caramba! ¿Qué está pasando?
¿Qué cuernos pasa?
¿Qué diantres pasa?
Muchas gracias - I feel like I need to learn more euphemisms and common phrases to use in everyday situations instead of just textbook stuff.

(It's "a" euphemism, not "an" euphemism, because the word begins with a consonant sound (yyyyou-phemism), not a vowel sound. I just wanted to give you a little tidbit of help since you helped me!!)

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Originally Posted by Don José View Post
Also: "¿Qué demonios?", and of course some swearwords...
Jaja - I learned some swear words while I was in Spain, and also learned that they don't work quite the same in Mexico..

Last edited by Rusty; January 01, 2012 at 11:12 PM. Reason: merged back-to-back posts
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Old January 02, 2012, 12:23 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GuapaErika View Post
(It's "a" euphemism, not "an" euphemism, because the word begins with a consonant sound (yyyyou-phemism), not a vowel sound. I just wanted to give you a little tidbit of help since you helped me!!)
Thank you. I no longer make that mistake with university (the initial sound is the consonant /j/, written using the international phonetic alphabet). The problem is that in my mind most English words I know have no particular sound -- it works as an only-written language to me --. Imagine my surprise when I learnt the pronunciation of words like procedure or entice.
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