Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
Soñar con pajaritos preñados
English translation:
It\'s like believing in fairy tales; or it\'s a pipe dream,
Added to glossary by
Myriam S
Nov 1, 2006 17:17
17 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Spanish term
Soñar con pajaritos preñados
Spanish to English
Social Sciences
Linguistics
Puerto Rico-Idiom
I need an equivalent idiom in English. Used in the following sentence, "Autonomía con unión permanente es soñar con pajaritos preñados."
Can it be, waiting for a pie in the sky? Any other suggestions.
Can it be, waiting for a pie in the sky? Any other suggestions.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | It's like believing in fairy tales; or it's a pipe dream, |
AZjuancarlos
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| 5 +3 | Is pie in the sky |
Edward Tully
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| 4 +2 | Wishful thinking |
Benjamin Brinner
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| 4 | is an impossible dream |
Angie Hayes
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Proposed translations
1 hr
AZjuancarlos
Native in Spanish
Works in field
Federally Certified Court Interpreter
Native in: Spanish 
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
It's like believing in fairy tales; or it's a pipe dream,
Also "Chimera" would work as a high register version with the meaning of "an unrealizable dream"
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I used pipe dream in this instance. I was looking to replace an idiom with another idiom, and not just a description.
Thank you, Juan Carlos. Thank you all for the discussion."
+3
8 mins
Edward Tully
Native in English
Because your words matter
Native in: English (Variants: US, UK) 
Works in: Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
44
Is pie in the sky
I think you're right, but without "waiting". If you want something more dramatic, you could use "pigs will fly before there is a..."
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Patricia Rosas
: I really like the "pigs will fly" since the "pie in the sky" is something hoped for, and in this case, the point is that the two states are mutually exclusive...
32 mins
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thanks Patricia! Seems everyone likes flying pigs!
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| agree |
Claudia Luque Bedregal
: I also like your second option
39 mins
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thank you!
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| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: yes, prefer 'pigs will fly'
1 hr
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thanks Carol!
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54 mins
Angie Hayes
Native in Spanish
&
English
Safety Trainer/ESL Adult Instructor
Native in: English , Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
is an impossible dream
Wishful thinking is good too. Usually when we puertoricans tell people, "estas soñando con pajaritos preñados", we are trying to say that you are dreaming with the impossible.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
+2
3 mins
Benjamin Brinner
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Fast, Reliable Translation & Copyediting
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Spanish to English, English, Spanish
Wishful thinking
Una opción.
WISHFUL THINKING = "Soñar con pajaritos preñados", en inglés. myweb.ecomplanet.com/ELDT6383/mycustompage0042.htm
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Note added at 6 minutos (2006-11-01 17:23:47 GMT)
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"pipe dream" is another option, although I think "wishful thinking" better suits the context.
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Note added at 15 minutos (2006-11-01 17:32:59 GMT)
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naturally, "pie in the sky" is also a valid option, but, to me at least, it sounds very dated.
http://www.answers.com/topic/pie-in-the-sky
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Note added at 1 hora (2006-11-01 18:48:55 GMT)
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"When pigs fly" does a good job of capturing the idiomatic language in the original, but it only means that something is impossible (or very unlikely), so it loses the other important (at least in my opinion) connotation, which is that the "unlikely event" is also something desirable, something that people dream about.
WISHFUL THINKING = "Soñar con pajaritos preñados", en inglés. myweb.ecomplanet.com/ELDT6383/mycustompage0042.htm
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Note added at 6 minutos (2006-11-01 17:23:47 GMT)
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"pipe dream" is another option, although I think "wishful thinking" better suits the context.
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Note added at 15 minutos (2006-11-01 17:32:59 GMT)
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naturally, "pie in the sky" is also a valid option, but, to me at least, it sounds very dated.
http://www.answers.com/topic/pie-in-the-sky
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Note added at 1 hora (2006-11-01 18:48:55 GMT)
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"When pigs fly" does a good job of capturing the idiomatic language in the original, but it only means that something is impossible (or very unlikely), so it loses the other important (at least in my opinion) connotation, which is that the "unlikely event" is also something desirable, something that people dream about.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
claudia estanislau
: sounds perfect
29 mins
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Thanks, Claudia. Glad you agree!
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| neutral |
Patricia Rosas
: Given the politically charged situation that is addressed in the asker's sentence, I don't that "wishful" is appropriate since many (most? all?) Puerto Ricans find "unión" so distasteful ... You may be right, but is PR autonomous today?
39 mins
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Actually, Patricia, "Autonomía" is a positive thing, fear of losing autonomy is what makes joining the union so unpopular. So I think the idea of retaining autonomy AFTER permanently joining DOES amount to wishful thinking. Right?
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| agree |
Patrice
5 hrs
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Thanks, Patricia!
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