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  2. Spanish to English
  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

mal servidos

English translation: ill-served OR: poorly served

19:10 Aug 24, 2015
Spanish to English translations [Non-PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Spanish term or phrase: mal servidos
Creimos que estábamos mal servidos con este gobernante y elegimos a otro mucho peor.
MyriamH (X)
English translation:ill-served OR: poorly served
Explanation:
These are the terms I would use.
Selected response from:

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 23:09
Grading comment
Thank you very much to all who provided their feedback. Regards, Myriam
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +12ill-served OR: poorly served
Muriel Vasconcellos
4 +3badly served
jude dabo
4 +2hard done by
Gillian Holmes
3 +1bad hand
Adolfo Fulco
4on the wrong track
David Hollywood


  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
badly served


Explanation:
cheers

jude dabo
Local time: 07:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Danik 2014
26 mins
  -> Thanks Danik!
agree  philgoddard: Lots of possibilities, but you were first.
3 hrs
  -> Yap!Cheers!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, first up
13 hrs
  -> Many thanks to you !
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
bad hand


Explanation:
"We thought we got dealt a bad hand, but we got an even lousier hand with this politician".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2015-08-24 19:25:35 GMT)
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I know that you get to chose a politician sometimes, but once it has been chosen there's nothing you can do about it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2015-08-24 19:27:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It would be "to be dealt a bad hand".

Adolfo Fulco
Argentina
Local time: 03:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: Spanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MollyRose: Good choice, if it fits the register of the text. We were dealt a bad hand.
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Molly! Saludos!
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
hard done by


Explanation:
If you're looking for an idiomatic turn of phrase, this is a possibility.


    Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/feel+hard+done-by
    Reference: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/hard-don...
Gillian Holmes
United Kingdom
Local time: 07:09
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales: Another good option!
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Elizabeth!
agree  neilmac: Although I have my reservations about non-natives being able to use this in a sentence...
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, neilmac, you could well be right...
neutral  Muriel Vasconcellos: It's a nice expression, but I agree with Neil - and it's never, ever used in U.S. English. Better to stick to something more universal when other, clearer options exist.
1 day 1 hr
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23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +12
ill-served OR: poorly served


Explanation:
These are the terms I would use.

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 23:09
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 80
Grading comment
Thank you very much to all who provided their feedback. Regards, Myriam

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Danik 2014
2 mins
  -> Thanks, Danik!
agree  patinba
8 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
21 mins
  -> Thanks, Patricia!
agree  TranslateThis
48 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Elizabeth!
agree  Mary Gardner Hume
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Mary!
agree  MollyRose: This is used more often.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Molly!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
12 hrs
  -> Thanks!
agree  Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
18 hrs
  -> Thanks, Antonio!
agree  Lisa McCarthy
19 hrs
  -> Thanks, Lisa!
agree  neilmac: Best in show IMHO...
21 hrs
  -> Thanks, Neil! Very kind of you!
agree  Carol Gullidge
23 hrs
  -> Thanks, Carol!
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
on the wrong track


Explanation:
free but would work IMO

David Hollywood
Local time: 03:09
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 72
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