Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
rat runs
Spanish translation:
rutas sobrecargadas
English term
Spain
18 years in legal&technical translation
Native in: Spanish 
, Catalan
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, English to Catalan, and 4 more.
rat runs
Opponents predictec chaos and confusion. They said there would be rat runs, a ghost town and the public transport system would not cope. Three years on it's clear they were wrong.
| 4 +3 | rutas sobrecargadas |
tangotrans
|
| 3 | lucha frenética / carrera sin sentido |
María Teresa Taylor Oliver
|
| 3 | atajos, rutas alternativas |
Elena Sepúlveda
|
Proposed translations
It takes two to Tango!
Native in: Spanish , English
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English
rutas sobrecargadas
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Note added at 6 mins (2006-05-25 15:32:45 GMT)
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se refiere a cuando hay confusion y atropello por que hay mucha gente en la carretera
Panama
Synesthete with a flair for tasty words!
Native in: Spanish (Variants: Nicaraguan, Mexican, Peruvian, Venezuelan, Cuban, Honduran, Argentine, US, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Latin American, Colombian, Costa Rican, Panamanian) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish
lucha frenética / carrera sin sentido
Main Entry: rat race Pronunciation Guide
Function: noun
: a violent, confused, and usually competitive activity or rush; especially : one that is meaningless or profitless : VICIOUS CIRCLE <life was a rat race ... no time for gracious living or warm family feeling -- Frances G. Patton> <caught in the rat race, they may still work hard -- Henry Hazlitt>
Citation format for this entry:
"rat race." Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (25 May 2006).
Mi diccionario Larousse define "rat race" como "lucha frenética".
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Note added at 5 mins (2006-05-25 15:31:06 GMT)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_race
Rat Race
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the term. For the film, see Rat Race (film).
A Rat Race is a term used for an endless, self-defeating or pointless pursuit. It conjures up the image of the futile efforts of a lab rat trying to escape whilst running around a maze or in a wheel. In an analogy of the modern city; many rats in a single maze running around making a lots of noise bumping into each other, but ultimately achieving nothing either collectively or individually.[...]
Spain
Translator/Transcreator/Writer/Reviewer
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: English to Spanish
atajos, rutas alternativas
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/forum/your_politics/2968774.stm
http://www.ratlife.org/Home/2Film-sections/7Ratruns/ratruns_text.htm
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