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Volumen latido
Estar de adorno
Apr 17, 2017 00:22
7 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term

No se le quita ni con gasolina

Spanish to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters No se le quita ni con gasolina
Me encuentro con este término en el siguiente contexto:

Ya está aquí hace rato, pero lo argentino no se le quita ni con gasolina. (refiriéndose a que las costumbres argentinas no se le van, a pesar de estar en otro país hace un tiempo)

Aguardo su ayuda.

Desde ya muchas gracias.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +5 but you'll never rub the Argentine out of him
3 +5 He is a die hard Argentine, Argentine through and through
4 +4 (he's a) dyed-in-the wool (loquesea)
3 He can't stop his Argentina roots from showing

Discussion

Marcelo González Apr 22, 2017:
I think it's a question of degrees... ...and to what extent the source text is reflected in the translation when it comes to these (equally important) stylistic effects. And it leads to discussions on how best to assess the translation of texts that are rich in both content and form (including sarcasm-laden humor). Cheers from the Marianas :-)
MollyRose Apr 22, 2017:
If you can't, you can't If you can't take the Argentina (accent, customs, etc.) out of him, that implies by any method whatsoever. No Need to mention what methods to try (but you Could). At least, that's the way I understand the saying. Of course, I was using a standard saying (probably from a song) but adjusting it for the context. I wasn't downplaying Argentine, just substituting the word to fit the situation.
Marcelo González Apr 22, 2017:
@MollyRose Two things: (1) that rendering downplays the importance of Argentina, specifically (as a country considered to have an especially identifiable accent, particularly that of Buenos Aires), and (2) it wouldn't evoke the obvious association with another context, i.e., that of removing something that just won't fade away or come out in the wash (ni con gasolina). This is why I prefer something that includes some sort of 'cleaning agent', even if only 'elbow grease' :-)
MollyRose Apr 19, 2017:
Marcelo Actually, I was thinking of the saying, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." You know, country boy (rural, cowboy, etc.).
Marcelo González Apr 19, 2017:
@MollyRose I think your suggestion, perhaps tweaked a bit, may work just fine: "He's been here a long time, but [you know what they say] you can take the boy out of Argentina, but you can take the Argentina out of the boy" [in allusion to the common saying in the States in relation to Brooklyn, for example]. Granted, it's longer, but some textual qualities may need to be sacrificed to reproduce certain effects found in the original. Translation 101 :-)
MollyRose Apr 17, 2017:
thought that came to mind You can take him out of Argentina, but you can't take Argentina out of him. Probably too long and might not exactly fit in your context, though.

Proposed translations

+5
28 mins
Selected

but you'll never rub the Argentine out of him

I would say

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Note added at 30 mins (2017-04-17 00:52:40 GMT)
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he'll always be an Argetine to the core

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Note added at 31 mins (2017-04-17 00:53:25 GMT)
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in his heart of hearts

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Note added at 35 mins (2017-04-17 00:58:05 GMT)
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Argentine

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Note added at 39 mins (2017-04-17 01:02:02 GMT)
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he'll never lose his Argentine roots deep down

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Note added at 57 mins (2017-04-17 01:19:33 GMT)
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but you won't rub out the Argentine in him/her no matter what
Peer comment(s):
agree franglish
7 hrs
agree bizisyl
11 hrs
agree Gabriela Giarola Viangula
12 hrs
agree JohnMcDove
21 hrs
agree Marcelo González : The most appropriate rendering conveys the idea that what makes him Argentine/Argentinian is so strongly ingrained that it can't be removed, and yours conveys precisely that, but without the abrasive 'cleaning agent', which may be good to add as well :-)
1 day 9 hrs
thanks to all
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+5
17 mins

He is a die hard Argentine, Argentine through and through

2 options
Peer comment(s):
agree MollyRose
1 hr
Thank you, Molly.
agree philgoddard : Diehard.
3 hrs
OK. Thanks, Phil.
agree Wendy Streitparth
13 hrs
Thank you, Wendy.
agree Yvonne Gallagher
15 hrs
Thanks, Gallagy.
agree JohnMcDove
22 hrs
Thank you, John.
Something went wrong...
+4
8 hrs

(he's a) dyed-in-the wool (loquesea)

Mr Google he say: << No results found for "Dyed in the wool Argentinian ".>>

So, you could be the first on your block to use this wonderful expression... :-)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2017-04-17 09:09:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Thinking of today's proz poll, I googled "dyed-in-the-wool early adopter", and got thirty-four hits...

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Note added at 8 hrs (2017-04-17 09:10:45 GMT)
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And "dyed-in-the-wool language geek" gets even more results, although many hits are from the same source.
Reference:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/dyed-in-the-wool

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dyed%20in%20the%20wool

Peer comment(s):
agree Wendy Streitparth
5 hrs
agree patinba : Try "dyed in the wool Argentine" (by far the preferred adjective) and you will have more luck.
10 hrs
agree JohnMcDove
13 hrs
agree MollyRose : With one more dash. Dyed-in-the-wool Argentine. Actually, this idiom came to my mind and I was going to post it, and then I saw you already did!
1 day 12 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 days 13 hrs

He can't stop his Argentina roots from showing

This is just another suggestion that came to mind for me. It's not too clear to me, however, whether he is trying not to seem/act argentino (but failing sometimes), or if he is proudly retaining some of his characteristics.

I think this is kind of a clever option because it is like those people who dye their hair but after a couple of weeks you can see the grey in the roots -- they are trying to cover it up but you can still tell -- but it also has kind of a double meaning because he has argentino "roots".
Something went wrong...
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