Right hand man

[poli]

How would you say this in Spanish?

[Rusty]

right-hand man:
mano derecha (ser la mano derecha de alguien)
mano derecho (ser el mano derecho de alguien)
brazo derecho (ser el brazo derecho de alguien)
(ser) hombre de confianza

[wrholt]

Originally Posted by poli

How would you say this in Spanish?

Hmmm, this one is new to me, too. Ayudante principal, perhaps?

Edit: señor speedy beat me to it!

[aleCcowaN]

ese hombre es la mano derecha de A.B. (el que lleva a cabo las cosas; su lugarteniente o su gerenciador)

ese es el hombre de confianza de A.B. (el que vela por sus intereses; su representante e intercesor, o quien atiende sus asuntos delicados o privados)

Both terms can be used loosely and sometimes overlap, but they're not synonyms anyway. But we say "es el hombre de confianza y mano derecha de C.D."

[Luna Azul]

Originally Posted by Rusty

right-hand man:
mano derecha (ser la mano derecha de alguien)
mano derecho (ser el mano derecho de alguien)
brazo derecho (ser el brazo derecho de alguien)
(ser) hombre de confianza

Ser la mano derecha de alguien es correcto.

Nunca se dice "el mano derecho", ni siquiera cuando hablamos de un hombre..

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I've heard "ser el mano derecha de alguien", but it's unusual.

[Luna Azul]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

I've heard "ser el mano derecha de alguien", but it's unusual.

I've never heard that..

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

It's used as a title, not changing the gender of "mano".

[aleCcowaN]

"El mano derecha" as it could be "el malas pulgas" or "el bala perdida". ♫ ¡Qué más da! ♪♬ ¡Qué más da! ♪♩ ¡Qué más da! ♪♫

[Rusty]

I agree that 'el mano derecho de' is very bad grammar, but I copied it from the same source that gave the other answers. I assumed the non-grammatical phrase was idiomatic in nature and posted it.

Here is a Mexican noticia that contains 'el mano derecho de' in it. I found this phrase used over 1000 times, but they could all be typos. If not, perhaps the ungrammatical phrase has an idiomatic sense of some sort.

[Luna Azul]

I could accept "el mano derecha" but "el mano derecho"???

Noooo way!!

[aleCcowaN]

It seems that the Mexican use of "mano" (meaning "bro") and its masculine adjectives is causing some confusion among speakers. "El mano derecho" is the "straight bro" by opposition to the "gay bro", or the "right-handed bro" instead the of "left-handed bro" or the "honest bro" against the "dishonest bro".

It also seems as some speakers in Mexico don't know that "mano derecha" is "right hand" in that specific idiom.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Mexican "mano" is not used like that.

"Mano" is used to talk directly to someone: "Oye, mano", "ayúdame, mano", "qué onda, mano", "¿en qué quedamos, mano?".

Very rarely will you hear anyone saying "Juan es mi mano".

As for "mano derecho" perhaps some time someone might say "Juan es un mano derecho", which would mean he's not a hypocritical friend, but that will by no means be commonly heard.
And even more rarely will "derecho" mean "not gay" in such context.


Oh, and most Mexicans will actually understand "mano derecha" as someone who will be a main assistant to someone else.

[aleCcowaN]

I forgot to add a lot of ironic icons. I attributed those meanings to El Informador's creativity.

This was not the first time a web forum thread wastes a lot of posts explaining a language mistake read in "El Informador", nor it'll be the last time.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Remember irony must be clearly marked for those who are learning... and for the rest of mankind as well.