Seña

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by Elaina

Sosia,

¿Qué significa "pagar una señal"? Is that like a "down-payment"? Is this also true for your second example?

Elaina

At first I thought it was maybe a deposit or down payment, but after thinking about it, it sounds more like an earnest money deposit or a good faith deposit. Earnest money is a deposit you make with a third party, usually an escrow company, that tells the seller you are serious about buying, but the money isn't released until the transaction closes.

[Alfonso]

Creo que se puede distinguir entre:

• Dejar un depósito o una fianza, por ejemplo, cuando alquilas un coche y, al final, recuperas el dinero dejado en depósito.
• Dar una señal, por ejemplo, cuando das al vendedor de una casa un porcentaje del importe de la venta para que te la reserve mientras reúnes el resto del dinero. Esto se hace firmando un contrato denominado habitualmente contrato de arras. Las arras es la cantidad de dinero que dejas, habitualmente, un 10% del importe.

[sosia]

Alfonso's right. You leave some money to show you're really interested, to reserve. If you retreat usually you lose it.
sorry for no answering, but I was busy and when I come back here there were tons of threads.
saludos

[poli]

Is santo y seña the most typical term for login and password?
Contraseña sounds much more formal

[Alfonso]

I don't have a clue if you say login and password where a Spanish speaker would say santo y seña.

We don't really use santo y seña in a serious context, as it's the way to ask for identification to a person who is coming into a secret society.

I think only spies and so on would use santo y seña. What do you say for this?

[Elaina]

You know, I have heard the expression of "santo y seña" but used in the following context:

Elaina: ¿Oye Poli, no has visto a Sosia? Tengo meses sin verlo.
Poli: Si, lo vi el martes. Se mudó a Francia por motivo que ganó la lotería, no trabaja, se la pasa disfrutando de la vida junto a su familia, y está en la mejor forma física ya que tiene un entrenador personal.

Al día siguiente.

Gemma: Hola Elaina, ¿como te va? ¿Qué razón me das de Sosia que hace mucho que no lo veo?

Elaina: Pues fíjate que ayer vi a Poli y me dío santo y seña de él. Me contó que Sosia........blah....blah......blah

So I take it that santo y seña can mean as knowing a lot of information about a person, place or thing. Is this a remote possibility?

Elaina

[Alfonso]

I never heard of that usage, Elaina, but it sounds really interesting and easily understandable. In that context, I would use a more conventional expression like ... me dio todo tipo de detalles de su vida... or, simply, ... me contó su vida... which already means that the story was long and full of details.

[Elaina]

I get it!

Dar una señal = earnest money (gracias David)....

Perdona Alfonso que siga - pero ahora aprendí que:

arras = the amount of money put up as earnest money...

I only knew:

arras = those little fake coins the groom gives to his bride during the wedding ceremony.

Thank you all for such wonderful lessons!!

Elaina

[CrOtALiTo]

Then. Could I say some courios? in this example.

Hey, friend, you are ok.

Yes, Luis, only was a hit on my head.

Hoho, my dear friend, it could happen you that.

I don't know, but I believe that was a hourse.

Let's see, please, Could you take me a signal of life.?

Yes, I can to do it, but I have headache now, but see me, I'm fine.

Ok, my friend, better I take you the hospital now.

Before, what you hurt more on the head. let's go.

Part two. At hospital.


Doctor, my friend are hurted of his head.

Doctor say: Let's see, Alejandro, please you take me some signal of your headache.

Alejandro say: Yeah, doctor is there for a anside of my ear.

Doctor: Ho, I see it. look please, you put me attetion, is only a scratch.

For finish, Alejandro will become in a crazy, because he ever fetl that had headache.


I await your corrections.

Regards.

[sosia]

¡santo y seña! as Alfonso says, was an old fashioned way (in medieval films) for asking for the secret password who recognizes you as a member of the same army, or as a friend spy.

"login and password" are usually translated as "usuario y contraseña". It was only a pun