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juntar las churras con las merinas

English translation: to mix apples and oranges

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:juntar las churras con las merinas
English translation:to mix apples and oranges
Entered by: maumi

08:29 Jul 10, 2002
Spanish to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary
Spanish term or phrase: juntar las churras con las merinas
newspaper article
Maurausa
mixing apples and oranges
Explanation:
Common expression in Spain.

Martin

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Note added at 2002-07-10 08:38:47 (GMT)
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Another common expression in English is \"to mix oil & water\".

An illustrative example of the meaning from a website:

Hay un principio científico bastante antiguo que dice que \"no es posible comparar magnitudes que no sean homogéneas\", y que un dicho popular lo expresa de manera tal vez más castiza al afirmar que \"no se pueden mezclar churras con merinas\". Y eso es exactamente lo que se viene haciendo en las estadísticas que aparecen en los medios de comunicación social, mezclar churras con merinas, cuando se afirma que la enseñanza concertada escolariza en sus centros al 32,2 % de los escolares, y, por lo tanto, le corresponde ese mismo tanto por ciento de escolarización de inmigrantes.
Selected response from:

Martin Perazzo
Spain
Local time: 03:40
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +7mixing apples and oranges
Martin Perazzo
4 +1mixing oil and water
R.J.Chadwick (X)
4"just a piece of advice" (not for grading)
Сергей Лузан


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
mixing apples and oranges


Explanation:
Common expression in Spain.

Martin

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-07-10 08:38:47 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another common expression in English is \"to mix oil & water\".

An illustrative example of the meaning from a website:

Hay un principio científico bastante antiguo que dice que \"no es posible comparar magnitudes que no sean homogéneas\", y que un dicho popular lo expresa de manera tal vez más castiza al afirmar que \"no se pueden mezclar churras con merinas\". Y eso es exactamente lo que se viene haciendo en las estadísticas que aparecen en los medios de comunicación social, mezclar churras con merinas, cuando se afirma que la enseñanza concertada escolariza en sus centros al 32,2 % de los escolares, y, por lo tanto, le corresponde ese mismo tanto por ciento de escolarización de inmigrantes.

Martin Perazzo
Spain
Local time: 03:40
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in pair: 123

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mirelluk
58 mins
agree  Сергей Лузан: Las dos son perfectas.
1 hr
agree  John Guzman
4 hrs
agree  Elizabeth Novesky
5 hrs
agree  luskie: I know for sure "to oil and water"
16 hrs
agree  LoreAC (X)
1 day 11 hrs
agree  x-Translator (X): "oil & water" is the best. It would be comparing apples to oranges
3 days 5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
"just a piece of advice" (not for grading)


Explanation:
Take Russian poem "Eugene Onegin" by A.S. Pushkin. There should be a good set of similar options in the place, where Onegin becomes friends with Lenski. I know for sure that it was translated by V. V. Nabokov. There are also some other interpretations.
Good luck, Maurausa!

Сергей Лузан
Russian Federation
Local time: 04:40
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in pair: 450
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 day 1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
mixing oil and water


Explanation:
This is a common expression in English to allude to two incompatible substances, processes, characteristics, etc. And this could possibly be the sense of the Spanish phrase.

See the following context:-

Hay un principio científico bastante antiguo que dice que "no es posible comparar magnitudes que no sean homogéneas", y que un dicho popular lo expresa de manera tal vez más castiza al afirmar que "no se pueden mezclar churras con merinas". Y eso es exactamente lo que se viene haciendo en las estadísticas que aparecen en los medios de comunicación social, mezclar churras con merinas, cuando se afirma que la enseñanza concertada escolariza en sus centros al 32,2 % de los escolares, y, por lo tanto, le corresponde ese mismo tanto por ciento de escolarización de inmigrantes. Pero lo que no contemplan es que en estos centros, que se llaman concertados, hay un número no pequeño de alumnos que están en etapas no concertadas, y, por eso mismo, no gratuitas y de imposible acceso para los inmigrantes: la mayoría de los alumnos de Bachillerato y un número notable de alumnos de Educación Infantil. Realmente el número de alumnos en niveles concertados en este país es del 22,9 %. Y si el número de alumnos de inmigración que nos atribuyen estos datos es de entre el 20 y el 25 %, ¿dónde está la tremenda desproporción de la que se está hablando?

But, translated thus ("mixing oil and water") how does it fit into the overall context?

Another English proverbial phrase that comes to mind is "to separate the sheep from the goats". But it is always hazardous and almost always frustrating to find proverbial (or idiomatic) phrases from two different languages that correspond precisely to each other.

In that case it would be more precise to gloss the meaning of the phrase -- in the same way that the quote above does.

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Note added at 2002-07-11 09:33:50 (GMT)
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Sorry, here is the full citation for the above quote:-

http://www.planalfa.es/feresic/FERE_Actualidad/educacionadeb...



R.J.Chadwick (X)
Local time: 09:40
PRO pts in pair: 218

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  x-Translator (X)
2 days 5 hrs
  -> Thank you for your support
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