hay hueso

English translation: to know on which side one's bread is buttered (see context)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Spanish term or phrase:	hay hueso
English translation:	to know on which side one's bread is buttered (see context)
Entered by:	Atenea Acevedo (X)

21:37 Mar 4, 2002

Spanish to English translations [Non-PRO]

Spanish term or phrase: hay hueso

it is used in informal talk.

jon

modismo

Explanation:
En México (y en otros países latinoamericanos), "hueso" se refiere a la posibilidad de tener un trabajo o beneficiarse de algo. Por ejemplo, los políticos, al final de un período presidencial, cuando hay cambios de funcionarios, no quieren "soltar el hueso". Otros esperan "recibir un hueso" y entrar en el juego político.

En un sentido coloquial, podría traducirse por el modismo en inglés: "To know on which side one's bread is buttered", es decir, saber lo que a uno le conviene.

Selected response from:

Atenea Acevedo (X)
Local time: 14:45

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4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +2

modismo

Atenea Acevedo (X)

4 +1

answer

Marcus Malabad

Strict

Teresa Duran-Sanchez

Discussion entries: 3

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

answer

Explanation:
Hueso means "bone" but it also means "a drudgery, rotten job, hard job". Another meaning is "piece of junk or rubbish".

The speaker may have said: "ay, hueso!" and that's what you heard. The speaker may have been lamenting that what he's talking about is a piece of junk or he's doing a bummer of a job.

Of course, it could be something else depending on the context.

Marcus Malabad
Canada
Native speaker of:

English,

Tagalog
PRO pts in pair: 458

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

modismo

Atenea Acevedo (X)
Local time: 14:45
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 110

Grading comment

Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.

16 hrs confidence:

Strict

Explanation:
I would need much more context to know what this refers to. In Spain, we say that somebody is a "hueso" (referred mainly to teachers or parents) when they are very strict and don´t allow any kind of naughty behaviour. "Hay" means "there is". It might mean: "here comes our strict teacher". It´s informal but not offensive.

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Note added at 2002-03-05 14:21:01 (GMT)
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Also, referred to teachers, when they make their exams terribly difficult.

Teresa Duran-Sanchez
Spain
Local time: 21:45
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 135

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hay hueso

English translation: to know on which side one's bread is buttered (see context)

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hay hueso

English translation: to know on which side one's bread is buttered (see context)

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