Flat out

[JPablo]

flat out ‹ denial / refusal › = rotundo, categórico

Any other ideas to translate "flat out" in a more colloquial register?

[Perikles]

The only use of 'flat out' in BrE is something running at maximum - he drove the car flat out for 600 km until the engine blew up.

[JPablo]

Yup. Like "a toda mecha" or "a toda pastilla"...

"A flat out denial" is more of an American usage, I guess.
"Una negativa sin paliativos". When I 'hear' the English, it sounds to me kind of colloquial... when I say "Una negativa rotunda/categórica" it sounds less colloquial and more formal in Spanish...

(Now, 600 km. is quite a figure... I must say... unless it is per every 10 hours, in which case, a 'Seat 600' would be able to average that... no problem)

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by JPablo

"A flat out denial" is more of an American usage, I guess.

I guess I could say 'a flat denial', but not 'flat out'. I would say 'he flatly denied he did it' or 'he flatly refused to do it' and so on.

[LibraryLady]

Originally Posted by JPablo

"A flat out denial" is more of an American usage, I guess.

I would say so. It's not an uncommon phrase where I live.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Some suggestions from examples I found through Google:

· It's a flat-out lie: es pura mentira, es una mentirota.
· I told her flat out that I didn't like her: le dije simple y llanamente que no me gusta, le dije francamente...
· They reported flat out that the operation was a failure: dijeron, así sin más, que la operación fue un fraude; dijeron, así nomás, que...
· He called up and flat out asked if I was having an affair with Bob: llamó, y sin preámbulos, preguntó si tengo algo que ver con Bob; llamó y a bocajarro/inopinadamente/de improviso preguntó...

I would also use Manolito's (from Mafalda's comic) expression: "Así, sin anestesia ni nada".

[JPablo]

Well, thank you all, Perikles, LibraryLady and Angélica... these Spanish options are all very good... but Manolito's one takes the cake!

[poli]

I'm sorry to come in late on this, but can you sometimes you escueto
for flat out? Una mentira escueta(bold faced lie)
un rechazo escueto

[JPablo]

No problem, Poli, your comments/questions are always welcome. And this particular one is very good.
In my opinion "escueto" would be more used for something like "succinct".
Like, well, the opposite of what I normally do.
Like, 'una explicación escueta' = a succinct explanation;
'Escribe con un lenguaje/estilo escueto' = He writes with a concise/plain style
no se extendió mucho, fue muy escueto al respecto = he didn’t go into great detail, he was very succinct [about it];
su mensaje fue escueto = his message was concise [or brief]

Yet I've heard "la verdad escueta" or my mom, quoting somebody, "la verdad pura y escueta desnuda de formulismos y de fantasmagóricas alucinaciones" or something of the sort.

Checking in Moliner, there are good synonyms for "escueto/-a", descarnado, desnudo, lacónico, mero, mondo y lirondo, a palo seco...

Interestingly enough, to me these go well with "truth" and somehow not as well with "lie". I could maybe say "una mentira monda y lironda".
"La realidad descarnada".

On a Google search I got 6 hits for "mentira escueta" and this example reads pretty natural to me,
"... todo es una ilusión óptica, una mentira escueta y clara, mentiras sobre mentiras, ..."

So, while there is not an overwhelming number of examples of usage like that, it is definitely understandable, and it is definitely conveying the idea of "sin rodeos, sin palabras innecesarias". (Another 2 options I had not thought of before!)

Thank you Poli!

[poli]

Thanks JPablo. It's like in English: the simple truth/the awful truth.
Somehow the simple lie doesn't work at all in English even when
talking about propaganda.

[JPablo]

You're welcome... I see now why does not work, a "lie" normally carries with it all kinds of "alterations" "complications" added to it... when you strip it of all these things, then you get the bare truth...

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

One more I'd use, although I don't know whether it's only used in Mexico:

· I told her flat out that I didn't like her: De plano le dije que no me gusta.
· They reported flat out that the operation was a failure: Dijeron que la operación fue de plano un fracaso.
· He called up and flat out asked if I was having an affair with Bob: Me llamó y me preguntó (así) de plano si tengo algo que ver con Bob.

[JPablo]

Sí, esa expresión se la he oído a mexicanos y a españoles... y quizá también a algún amigo argentino (?) (No me acuerdo ahora en concreto... a lo mejor Ookami nos dice algo al respecto.) ¡Muchas gracias!