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inducción de ingreso
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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

no la sopa de ajo...

English translation:

... not reinventing the wheel (that was invented long ago)

Added to glossary by John Cutler
Oct 31, 2012 18:12
11 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term

no la sopa de ajo...

Spanish to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Popular culture
The context isn't about cooking and the famous Spanish chef Karlos Arguiñano. It's actually a document about children's rights as can be seen from the excerpt below.

Los Derechos del Niño y los Derechos Humanos no son un descubrimiento reciente de unas mentes pensantes privilegiadas, no: la sopa de ajo ya fue descubierta hace muchos años, mal que les pese a los "Arguiñanos" de turno.

I'm looking for a translation in internationally understood or specifically US English that conveys the idea, not the words "no: la sopa de ajo ya fue descubierta hace muchos años, mal que les pese a los "Arguiñanos" de turno."

It needs to be suitable for an English speaking audience and doesn't necessarily have to relate to cooking or chefs.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 ... not reinventing the wheel (that was invented long ago)

Discussion

franglish Nov 1, 2012:
mal que les pese is "like it or not" and can be integrated into the sentence.
Carol Gullidge Oct 31, 2012:
mal que pese I was only trying to translate the term in the header. Obviously, it would be nice for the Asker if we were to translate the whole lot, but that would be way beyond the length allowed - and would be impossible as far as the Glossary is concerned, and would make grading the question extremely problematical! I guess that's why there's a limit...
philgoddard Oct 31, 2012:
But that's not relevant if you go with the Columbus idea. You'd just ignore it.
Jenni Lukac (X) Oct 31, 2012:
It's the "mal que pese" part that's difficult to weigh in on.
philgoddard Oct 31, 2012:
I don't see why it should offend anyone. You could put "discovered" in quotation marks if you thought it was that important.
Jenni Lukac (X) Oct 31, 2012:
The trick is finishing the sentence without offending anyone. Thinking caps on, everyone...
James A. Walsh Oct 31, 2012:
Yeah I'm loving that idea too, Lorena
philgoddard Oct 31, 2012:
That's an excellent idea. Why not put it as an answer? You could just say "just as America existed before Columbus discovered it."
lorenab23 Oct 31, 2012:
would it be too controversial? No, Columbus did not discover America, it already existed, even if it upsets Columbus supporters....or something to that effect.
philgoddard Oct 31, 2012:
You say it doesn't necessarily have to relate to cooking. I actually think it might be better if it didn't - comparing a serious subject like children's rights to a chef's signature dish sounds a bit silly in my opinion.

Proposed translations

+3
7 mins
Spanish term (edited): no: la sopa de ajo ya fue descubierta
Selected

... not reinventing the wheel (that was invented long ago)

... there's nothing new under the sun

a couple of very idiomatic expressions that could be adapted to fit your context

the contents of the brackets are optional
Peer comment(s):
neutral franglish : Human, and specially children's rights, are relatively recent so your proposals may not fit that well. Can't think of an alternative, though.
27 mins
True! although I'm not sure how much the time scale matters here. I was mainly trying to capture the meaning in an idiomatic way. But note the CR of only 3... :)
agree Paul Lambert
1 hr
many thanks Paul!
agree Cecilia Barraza-Mukherjee : I go for the reinvention of the wheel which is a very well known saying expressing something that is not new
3 hrs
many thanks Cecilia - you've put it very succinctly! It is very well known indeed!
agree Jenni Lukac (X) : I think this resolves the problem without offending anyone.
16 hrs
many thanks Jenni :)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Carol!"
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