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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Spanish term or phrase:	"El Chirlo"
English translation:	El Chirlo
Entered by:	Alfredo Tanús

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5:42am Jan 29, 2007

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Spanish term or phrase: "El Chirlo"

...quien, al igual que todos, también solía llamarme: “El Chirlo”. ¡Ese sí que era tremendo! ¿Por qué pones esa cara?

Pensé que a los santos nadie les ponía algún apodo.

No te creas, creo que en esa edad muy poca gente tiene cara de santo, y yo no fui la excepción. Para todos fui “El Chirlo”, y pocas veces Toribio.

– ¿Ese era su apodo?

En efecto, ya ves la vida de los seminarios. Imagino que tú también tuviste uno, ¿no es así? Si no te lo pusieron en esos años, ¡ahora mismo te pondré uno bueno! Me decían “El Chirlo” por alto y güero...

It can't be "scar" or "spank". I seem to recall some reduplicative expression like "chirlo-mirlo". But one of the accounts of Santo Toribio Romo says he had that nickname "por jugueton y alegre". The setting is Jalisco, Mexico. Anyone?

Ruth Henderson

KudoZ activity
Questions: 8 (all closed)
Answers: 5869

United States

El Chirlo

Explanation:
Ruth: this is a nickname and, in my opinion, should not be translated.

Selected response from:

Alfredo Tanús
Argentina

Note from asker to answerer

Thanks, Alfredo. I decided to leave it untranslated.
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

5 +3

El Chirlo

Alfredo Tanús

the dick

Alba Mora

loquacious, chatty (blond?)

xxxVocabulum

Some info and suggestions (imp, Anansi, jinn)

Álvaro Blanch

Answers

4 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

El Chirlo El Chirlo

Explanation:
Ruth: this is a nickname and, in my opinion, should not be translated.

Alfredo Tanús
Argentina
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 11

Note from asker to answerer

Thanks, Alfredo. I decided to leave it untranslated.

6 hrs confidence:

Some info and suggestions (imp, Anansi, jinn)

Explanation:
Hi Ruthie,

Digging and delving, I've found a couple of clues as to where this nickname might come from. The first is a word in Galician:

Diccionario de la Real Academia Galega
chirlo
chirlos.m. Son que emiten as aves ó chirlar. Desde o meu cuarto oía o chirlo dos paxaros. CF. chío, pío1.
http://www.edu.xunta.es/diccionarios/ListaDefinicion.jsp?IDX...

Second from a website termed 'palabreru leonés':

Chirlos mirlos De la onomatop. chirl) masc. pl. Seres fantásticos para burlarse de incautos. sing. Tordo. Cosa de poco alimento
http://users.servicios.retecal.es/amnuve/dicllion/dicciona/c...

Toribio lived from 1900-1928. I assume that at this time there were many first generation immigrants from Galicia and León (neighbouring regions by the way), so perhaps at that time the nickname was a commonly used word. From the definition, I'm pretty sure it would stem from 'chirlo mirlo', much in the same way cockney rhyming slang only uses the first part of a term (the 'un-rhyming' part) but is still recognisable to those who are familiar with this form of expression.

I'm pretty sure there is a similar word in English for these 'chirlos mirlos', but the only thing that has come to mind is "jinn" (also 'djinn'), taken from Arabian folklore. However the OED defines a jinn as:

'an intelligent spirit of lower rank than the angels, able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess humans.

As you see, the idea might be related but the OED does not mention that a 'jinn' has any kind of 'cajoling' nature.

Another word that spring to mind is "Anansi" or "Anansi", known as 'the trickster', of African origin but which I believe is a common figure in some Caribbean countries. I looked up the entry on Wikipedia. Here's an excerpt:

Anansi is one of the most important gods of West African lore.

Anansi and Mrs. GuineafowlHe is a trickster and a culture hero, who acts on behalf of Nyame (his father, the sky god) and brings rain to stop fires and performing other duties for him. His mother is Asase Ya. There are several mentions of Anansi's children. According to some myths his wife is known as Miss Anansi or Mistress Anansi but most commonly as Aso. Eventually, Anansi was replaced by a chameleon.

He is depicted in numerous forms: a spider, a human, or combinations thereof.

The Anansi legends are believed to have originated in the Ashanti tribe. They later spread to other Akan groups and then to the West Indies, Suriname, and the Netherlands Antilles. On Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire he is known as Nanzi, and his wife as Shi Maria. Anansi stories originated in Ghana, in Africa. The word Anansi is Akan and means spider.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anansie

I'm sure there are other words in English for this type of mischievous devil, maybe even 'imp'. I'm sure you have much more vocab than me, maybe you can find a more easily understandable equivalent.

Your final choice, obviously, would be to leave as is and insert a translator's note.

Clearly, it's up to you.

Good luck!

Álvaro :O) :O)

Álvaro Blanch
Spain
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 47

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thanks, Álvaro, for digging and delving. In the end I decided to leave it untranslated, por si las dudas, but I suspect Alba may be right.

58 mins confidence:

el chirlo the dick

Explanation:
Or any other equivalent!
Good luck!!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 horas (2007-01-29 18:40:10 GMT)
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Es necesario aclarar qué significa porque luego hay un comentario "¡Ese sí que era tremendo!" que avala mi opción. Luego hay una decripción: "Me decían “El Chirlo” por alto y güero..." (güero quiere decir blanco).
Lo consulté en un foro mexicano. Ahí me informaron qué era.
Saludos

Alba Mora
Argentina
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 4

Notes to answerer

Asker: I tend to believe you are right, but just in case, I left it untranslated (better to err on the side of caution?). Thanks!

13 hrs confidence:

chirlo loquacious, chatty (blond?)

Explanation:
Hola Ruth,
Sólo un comentario. En una pequeña comunidad de Tlaxcala, México aprendí hace años que las personas llaman "chirlerito", "chirlito" o "chirlo" a los niños que hablan mucho y son graciosos por naturaleza.

Quizás ésto se relaciona con el apodo de Toribio ya que se explica que le pusieron el mote por "juguetón y alegre". Lo que me desconcierta un poco es que él mismo Toribio diga en tu texto que le decían así "por alto y güero". Tal vez en la comunidad de Jalisco usen este apodo de otra manera.

Por si es de utilidad, dice el diccionario de la RAE:
chirlería.
1. f. Charla, habladuría.

Por otra parte en mi diccionario de español (Larousse) dice que "chirlomirlo" es un alimento con poca sustancia o sabor; en México es común que a los rubios o "güeros" les digan que son "güeros desabridos" por lo claro de su pelo. Sería un poco rebuscado pensar que de ahí surgió el nombre, pero no deja de ser otra posibilidad.

Suerte y saludos cordiales. :)

xxxVocabulum
Mexico
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 8

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Spanish: "El Chirlo"

English translation: El Chirlo