El colmo...

[Jane]

¡Esto es el colmo!
I know that here in Spain colmo means something like the limit or the last straw, but i´d like to know if it´s used differently in other spanish speaking countries. And if yes, how is it used?

[Tomisimo]

It's used pretty much the same in México.

Es el cooooolmo que te hayas equivocado siendo tan inteligente.
Es el colmo que siendo carpintero no te puedes hacer una puerta.

that's the limit ... that's utterly ridiculous are two good translations.

También he escuchado por ejemplo:

Es el colmo de la elegancia.
It's the height of elegance.

[Alfonso]

Hi, Jane,
You have some more information about el colmo here, without going away from Tomísimo.
The examples David has given to us are also very commonly used in Spain.

[poli]

In English we use epitome (pronounced epítomy) and the height where Spanish speakers use colmo. I notice that epitome is also a Spanish word. Is it synonimous to colmo in Spanish?

Examples:
This is the epitome of beauty/ This is the height of beauty
This is the epitome of nonsense/ This is the height of nonsense

[Alfonso]

Epítome is completely different from colmo, as epítome is a really formal / academic way to mean abstract (of an article, essay, etc.).

Epítome es sinónimo de resumen, pero se usa mucho más resumen. La etimología griega de epítome lo convierte en una palabra que casi sólo se usa en el ámbito de la Filología.

[Alfonso]

Originally Posted by poli

This is the epitome of beauty
This is the epitome of nonsense

I understand epitome is used in the previous sentences with the nuance of abstract, which is its Greek meaning. Is epitome commonly used in English?

[Elaina]

The word itself, "epitome" is not commonly used.

Elaina

[Rusty]

Yes, it is very commonly used.

She is the epitome of beauty. He is the epitome of a hard worker.
But, 'he is at the height of his career' is more common than 'he is at the epitome of his career.'

[poli]

Yes,epitome is common. Because it has more than two syllables less educated people are less likely to use it, but just about everyone understands it. It's common. You can use essence too.
This is the essence of stupidity
This is the essence of brilliance

Se puede usar esencia así. Ejemplo: Eso es la esencia de lo absurdo.

[Elaina]

To tell you the truth, I have not heard that word used in years. I've heard essence, height, etc but not epitome.

Maybe I live in the "wrong part of town".

Elaina

[Iris]

Epitome is a thing or person that shows a stated quality to a very great degree: His behaviour was the epitome of bad manners= He had horrible manners.
You can also use the verb to epitomize: The strike epitomizes what is wrong with industrial relations in this country.
The meaning of the Spanish epítome is, I think, totally different: it's a summary of a long work.

[Rusty]

I believe these are other ways to use el colmo, in its negative sense (meaning the last straw):

I am at my wit's end.
I am at/on the brink (here, of a nervous breakdown, of quitting my job, etc.).
That was my last nerve. (You're on my last nerve.)
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. (Es la gota que colma el vaso.)
That took me over the edge.

[poli]

As you can see epitome and epitomize are, to my surprise, regional. Where I come from it's used, but where Alice had her adventure, it's best to find an alternate word: the essence, the height, perhaps prime example.(el ejemplar)

[Alfonso]

Por cierto, el colmo de los colmos es perder un imperdible.
Y el colmo de un enano, que la policía le diga ¡alto!

Los chistes del colmo son todo un género.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Alfonso

Por cierto, el colmo de los colmos es perder un imperdible.
Y el colmo de un enano, que la policía le diga ¡alto!

Los chistes del colmo son todo un género.

LOL (Laugh Out Loud)

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Alfonso

Por cierto, el colmo de los colmos es perder un imperdible.
Y el colmo de un enano, que la policía le diga ¡alto!

Los chistes del colmo son todo un género.

¿Sabéis cuál es el colmo de un ordenador? Tener miedo a los ratones.

Se encuentra otros chistes como estos here.

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by Alfonso

Los chistes del colmo son todo un género.

El colmo de un albañíl es que se llame Armando Paredes.

[Alfonso]

Originally Posted by poli

Se puede usar esencia así. Ejemplo: Eso es la esencia de lo absurdo.

Se puede, pero suena algo rebuscado. Es más habitual decir: Es el colmo del absurdo.

[gatitoverde]

Estoy de acuerdo que "epitome" es una palabra más o menos común escucharse en inglés. Algunas alternativas son:

embodiment (menos común pero se entiende)
- "She is the embodiment of high fashion. She always looks like she just walked off the cover of Cosmo."

personification
- "That guy is the personification of infidelity. Every time I see him, he's with some other woman. I don't know how to tell June."

walking definition
- "You, sir, would be the walking definition of laziness if you ever got up off your ass to do anything."

Pero debo decir que estos son limitados a las personas, y "epitome" tiene un sentido más amplio.

[Rusty]

In the same vein as walking definition, we sometimes say poster child, dicho que procede de los pósteres de niños desamparados, o lo que sea. Es otra manera de decir el vivo ejemplo, o el estándar.
- Kenny G. is the poster child of smooth music.
- Michael Jackson is the poster boy of too much plastic surgery.