Eavesdrop

[CrOtALiTo]

O cuando uno se mete a escuchar algo que no le incunve.

Podria ser tambien esa opcion.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by CrOtALiTo

O cuando uno se mete a escuchar algo que no le incunve.

Podria ser tambien esa opcion.

Sí, hombre.
And, when you're caught eavesdropping, pueden decirte 'no es nada que te incumba' (it's none of your business).

[Alfonso]

Fisgonear, husmear, son palabras bastante habituales en España con el sentido que estáis diciendo: eavesdropping.

You can also use the adjective fisgón, fisgona for a person.

Atisbar is a different thing: it's something like to see something from far away. If you navigate in a ship you atisbas the ground when you get close to it.

[Jane]

Originally Posted by Alfonso

Fisgonear, husmear, son palabras bastante habituales en España con el sentido que estáis diciendo: eavesdropping.

You can also use the adjective fisgón, fisgona for a person.

Atisbar is a different thing: it's something like to see something from far away. If you navigate in a ship you atisbas the ground when you get close to it.

Entonces, Fisgonear, husmear, fisgón, fisgona tiene que ver con el oido y atisbar con el verbo ver?
Como se diría peeping Tom or to take a peek at someting en Español?

[Alfonso]

Originally Posted by Jane

Entonces, Fisgonear, husmear, fisgón, fisgona tiene que ver con el oido y atisbar con el verbo ver?


Como se diría peeping Tom or to take a peek at someting en Español?

• Fisgonear tiene que ver tanto con el oído como con la vista.
• Husmear, etimológicamente, tiene que ver con el olfato, pero se usa con otros sentidos dependiendo del contexto, sobre todo con la vista.
• Atisbar se refiere sólo a la vista.

Husmear y fisgonear se hace furtivamente.
Atisbar no se hace furtivamente. Es algo así como descubrir algo en la lejanía, en el horizonte.

No sé muy bien los sentidos de peeping Tom, or to take a peek at something. Can you explain them to me, please?

Estás aprendiendo mucho, Jane. ¡Me alegro!

[Rusty]

Peeping Tom = mirón, voyeur (francés)
Muchos mirones andan fisgoneando a parejas, para verlas acariciarse o besarse.

to take a peek at something = echar una ojeada, una miradita - fisgonear - vichar algo

atisbar = to see something in the distance - to make something out
A las 6 de la manaña del día siguiente el vigía atisbó las islas.

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by Alfonso

No sé muy bien los sentidos de peeping Tom, or to take a peek at something.

Peeping Tom = (also voyeur) Someone who derives sexual pleasure from observing other people.

[Elaina]

Well, maybe not just observing other people cause that could be just "a people watcher" doing it out in the open.

A peeping tom (mirón), watches people secretly when they are doing things not to be done in public and they get sexual pleasure out of doing it.....in dressing rooms, from across the street using a microscope, in bathroom stalls, etc.

Elaina

[Tomisimo]

That's right Elaina. I guess I'm no expert on the subject.

I looked it up on <snip> and this is what they said
1. Word:- eavesdrop
Pronunciation:- [ivs-drop]
Meaning(s):- vn. Escuchar por la ventana lo que se habla dentro de la casa; escuchar a las puertas.

[María José]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

Peeping Tom = (also voyeur) Someone who derives sexual pleasure from observing other people.

Do you know the origin of this expression? The Lady Godiva story... that I must have told my students like a gazillion times because I like it so much.

[Tomisimo]

No, I don't know. The only thing I know about Lady Godiva is it's now a brand of chocolate (I think )

[María José]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

No, I don't know. The only thing I know about Lady Godiva is it's now a brand of chocolate (I think )

Have a look at this. I know a link would have been better, but I'm no Rusty. In fact, I feel quite proud of myself because now I can copy and paste. Sort of...
Godiva (or Godgifu) (fl. 1040-1080) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur originates from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom had watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.

The article seems to contain unreliable information regarding dates, but I chose it because it is a pretty good summary of this lovely legend.
I also like the picture by John Collier, although I had never seen it before.
P.S. Who said I coudn't do links, I've done quite a few. And all unintentionally...

[Elaina]

It is a beautiful story, if all is true.

What a noble thing for her to do and to tell you the truth, I am REALLY surprised that her husband kept his word!

This reference in the story:

On her deathbed, she gave a heavy gem-encrusted gold chain to the monastery, directing that it should be placed around the neck of the image of the Virgin. Those who came to pray, she said, should say a prayer for each stone in the chain.

I am wondering if they are referring this to a "rosary"? There is no reference to Lady Godiva and the rosary but it sure made me wonder.....

Thanks for the interesting read...........

[María José]

Glad you enjoyed it. I suppose there's part of truth in the story and that she really existed, but as it's often the case with this kind of outstanding characters who lived in an era were documentation was quite precarious, it's difficult to separate fact from truth. In fact, I have heard several different versions.
Have a nice Sunday.