se les caiga un mito

English translation: their idol has feet of clay

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:se les caiga un mito
English translation:their idol has feet of clay
Entered by: Eugenio Llorente

00:56 Jan 28, 2015
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Advertising / Public Relations / Advertising effectiveness
Spanish term or phrase: se les caiga un mito
Context: the team of a consulting firm writing about their dreams, and here is on of the dreams:

"Me gustaría que mis hijos me vieran como un héroe, hasta que a los 16 años me pregunten por la integral de la tangente hiperbólica del seno de alfa y se les caiga un mito."

This is how I see it:

"I want my children to see me as a hero, knowing that when they turn 16 and ask me about the hyperbolic tangent of the alpha sine, I'll be relegated to the ranks of a fallen myth."
Eugenio Llorente
Spain
Local time: 22:08
they'll find that their idol has feet of clay
Explanation:
I really like your own translation and Francois's variant on it, but the trouble is that in English this use of "myth" is not idiomatic. Although the word myth can in principle mean a figure of mythic status, in ordinary speech it is always used to refer to something that people wrongly believe to be true: applied to a person, it would imply that he or she is not a real person but fictional, an invention. And although this text is saying that the heroic image they had of their father comes to seem false to them, referring to him as a myth doesn't express this. It just sounds wrong.

As an alternative, I suggest the expression "feet of clay", a set phrase that expresses exactly what the passage is referring to. It comes (like so many expressions) from the Bible: the book of Daniel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feet_of_clay

"feet of clay
a weakness or hidden flaw in the character of a greatly admired or respected person:
He was disillusioned to find that even Lincoln had feet of clay."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feet of clay


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Note added at 6 hrs (2015-01-28 07:51:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Where Spanish refers to someone as a "mito" (for example "Kate Moss es un mito en el mundo de la moda"), you can quite often call them a "legend" or a "legendary figure" in English, but not a "myth".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2015-01-28 07:54:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Francois's suggestion, "the myth collapses", is idiomatic, but it changes the meaning; it means that their false idea of their father collapses, but in the Spanish text "mito" refers to the father himself as a hero, not to the falsity of their idea of him.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2015-01-29 07:56:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Of course, depending on how you do the whole sentence, it could be "until [...] they find that [...]".
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:08
Grading comment
I've learned a lot from all of you!
Thank you very much.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5they'll find that their idol has feet of clay
Charles Davis
4(and until) ....the myth collapses before their eyes
Francois Boye
3 +1the myth would be well and truly debunked
Marian Vieyra
4- how are the mighty fallen!
neilmac


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
(and until) ....the myth collapses before their eyes


Explanation:
The myth of the hero father collapses before their eyes because Dad does not it all; he is not knowledgeable about trigonometry

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-01-28 02:46:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"before their eyes" seems to me better than "on them", which is the literal meaning of "les caiga"

Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 17:08
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the myth would be well and truly debunked


Explanation:
I do like your own suggestion, Eugenio, but what Charles says about the word myth is true. 'Feet of clay' is a very common idiom and expresses loss of status very well. If you want to retain the idea of a myth, you can play around with my suggestion.

Another expression you may not know, also from the Bible, is "the scales fell from their eyes".


    Reference: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/the-sca...
    Reference: http://list25.com/25-popular-myths-debunked/
Marian Vieyra
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:08
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Carol Gullidge: These two also work! I actually don't see any problem with "myth" here, but also like the "scales" suggestion
10 hrs
  -> Thanks, Carol
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
- how are the mighty fallen!


Explanation:
"How are the mighty fallen"
Meaning -> The previously powerful are now reduced.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2015-01-28 08:35:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Your own suggestion isn't bad either...


    Reference: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/188450.html
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:08
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 69
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
they'll find that their idol has feet of clay


Explanation:
I really like your own translation and Francois's variant on it, but the trouble is that in English this use of "myth" is not idiomatic. Although the word myth can in principle mean a figure of mythic status, in ordinary speech it is always used to refer to something that people wrongly believe to be true: applied to a person, it would imply that he or she is not a real person but fictional, an invention. And although this text is saying that the heroic image they had of their father comes to seem false to them, referring to him as a myth doesn't express this. It just sounds wrong.

As an alternative, I suggest the expression "feet of clay", a set phrase that expresses exactly what the passage is referring to. It comes (like so many expressions) from the Bible: the book of Daniel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feet_of_clay

"feet of clay
a weakness or hidden flaw in the character of a greatly admired or respected person:
He was disillusioned to find that even Lincoln had feet of clay."
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/feet of clay


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2015-01-28 07:51:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Where Spanish refers to someone as a "mito" (for example "Kate Moss es un mito en el mundo de la moda"), you can quite often call them a "legend" or a "legendary figure" in English, but not a "myth".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2015-01-28 07:54:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Francois's suggestion, "the myth collapses", is idiomatic, but it changes the meaning; it means that their false idea of their father collapses, but in the Spanish text "mito" refers to the father himself as a hero, not to the falsity of their idea of him.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2015-01-29 07:56:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Of course, depending on how you do the whole sentence, it could be "until [...] they find that [...]".

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 22:08
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 40
Grading comment
I've learned a lot from all of you!
Thank you very much.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  neilmac: Classic :)
41 mins
  -> Cheers Neil ;)

agree  Rachael West: I agree that the word myth just doesn't work in the same way in English as it does in Spanish. So "feet of clay" or, "they will witness the defeat of their idol" perhaps, would avoid that.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Rachael :)

agree  franglish
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, franglish :)

agree  Carol Gullidge
10 hrs
  -> Thanks, Carol :)

agree  David Ronder: Yes, this works well. Agree that 'myth' can't be used in the same way in English; also think 'fallen myth' is a rather awkward collocation.
23 hrs
  -> Thanks, David. Yes, I think so too; fallen idol would be better
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