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Spanish to English translations [Non-PRO] Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Spanish term or phrase:madre los míos
Does this phrase make any sense at all as an interjection? Isn't it ungrammatical?
It's meant to be spoken as dialogue, in a fictional story, by a bilingual but native Spanish speaker. Needless to say, the author is not a native Spanish speaker and may not speak much Spanish at all.
“Shhhh!” she said, a finger to her lips. “He’s asleep. Madre los míos, whatever you do, don’t wake him.”
Teressa, I like that idea! Is it true that "madre de Dios" is rather old-fashioned, especially among US Spanish-speakers? Or does it fit into something a middle-aged-to-a-bit-older Mexican-American woman would say in 2011?
Could it possible be a mis-heard "Madre de Dios"? I know a young man who thought "mito" was how one said "son" because that's what he heard when his father said "mi hijito"
D. dropped her work duffle near the door, unclipped the holster from her belt, and laid the Baby Eagle, along with her watch, on a console table in the hall. She glanced at the mail that lay there and considered opening it, but just then Engracia Lopez appeared in the hallway.
“Shhhh!” she said, a finger to her lips. “He’s asleep. Madre los míos, whatever you do, don’t wake him.”
[She's talking about a guy she's paid to take care of who's a drunk and a mess who is temporarily asleep.]
Yes, only the interjection is in Spanish. The idea is that this is a fluent English-speaker who peppers her sentences with Spanish. So I take it "madre los mios" makes no sense. I do want to keep this in Spanish: maybe "Ay, Dios mío"?
The translation workplace 
