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atraco petrolero de Wall Street y las grandes petroleras

Glossary entry

español term or phrase:

tiene huevos

inglés translation:

Unbelievable!

Added to glossary by Ion Zubizarreta
Dec 1, 2013 12:11
10 yrs ago
3 viewers *
español term

tiene huevos

español al inglés Arte/Literatura Modismos / Máximas / Dichos
The interviewer explains what happened after having an accident and being picked up by an ambulance.
Thanks!

"Nos cogió una ambulancia y para Zaragoza. ¡Pero tiene huevos! La ambulancia por el camino se quedó sin batería, tuvo que venir otra a remolcarla, fue un infierno.
Proposed translations (inglés)
3 +9 Unbelievable!
3 +5 What a cock-up/balls-up/screw-up/disaster
4 +2 What a nightmare!
4 But it had a mind of its own!
4 wait for this / you're not going to believe this

Discussion

Estela Quintero-Weldon Dec 2, 2013:
Another meaning - Tiene huevos Hi,
I know it in singular "tiene huevo" in Colombia - 'fell short of' or 'it did not measure up' or 'it lacks stature or whatever'
It means something like that, as others have expressed it.
Neil Ashby Dec 1, 2013:
Hi Henry In Spain it is used for a variety of situations, as Charles mentions, for example, "cheeky S.O.B.", "he's got a lot of b....", brash, rude, etc...it has lots of uses. There are probably plenty that coincide with Mexico, depending on the context.
Henry Hinds Dec 1, 2013:
Interesting This illustrates why CONTEXT (origin and destination) are extremely important to know, because in Mexico the meaning would be totally different.

Proposed translations

+9
1 hora
Selected

Unbelievable!

Comes to my mind when I act out the situation in English.
Note from asker:
Thank you all! I think "Would you believe it?" (and "Unbelievable!") sound great here.
Peer comment(s):
agree peter jackson : Or "Would you believe it?"
7 minutos
Thanks Peter, works well too.
agree Phoenix III
22 minutos
Thanks Phoenix
agree Catarina Lopes
1 hora
Gracias Ana,
agree Pablo Julián Davis : This sounds right too... as does Peter's variant.
2 horas
Gracias Pablo, I like your 'brass ones' comment ;@)
agree teju : I like Peter's twist on your answer.
3 horas
Thanks Teju, yes Peter's twist probably fits better in a dialogue/interview.
agree Charles Davis : Yes, yours or Peter's variant are the kind of thing you would say. I wouldn't even rule out "unbe-fucking-lievable" ;) // Each to his own. Both forms are in wiktionary (which is pretty unbelievable in itself).
3 horas
Thanks Charles, personally I'd say "un-f'''ing-believable", but that's just splitting syllables. ;@)
agree Yvonne Gallagher
4 horas
Thanks Gallagy, the question's drawing a lot of attention!
agree Salloz
5 horas
Thanks Salloz
agree Kirk Garrett Smith
322 días
Thanks Kirk.... ;@)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
9 minutos

What a nightmare!

"La cosa tiene huevos" (or "narices" in the more polite version) is one of those common colloquial expressions in Spain that has to be translated freely according to the context. It suggests more or less that something was outrageous or remarkably trying, or something of that kind.

In context, I think someone would probably have said in English that it was a nightmare: "What a nightmare!"; "It was a real/total/absolute nightmare".
Peer comment(s):
agree Jenni Lukac (X) : I agree. This kind of thing could happen in Aragon . . .
15 minutos
Not just in Aragon, to be fair... Thanks, Jenni!
agree Pablo Julián Davis : Jaja, lo primero en lo que pienso al empezar a leer, es q'se va a elogiar al chofer de la ambulancia por su valentía, porque tuvo q'conducir por una zona de desastre natural o algo así-- onda "That guy had brass ones!" (EEUU). Hay huevos y huevos...
2 horas
Gracias, tocayo! Me gusta lo de "brass ones" :)
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+5
26 minutos

What a cock-up/balls-up/screw-up/disaster

The first three expressions are colloquial, as in the ST, although the implication is that someone made a mistake - but having said that, I think running out of battery could be put down to human error!

And I'm trying to avoid anything here that is even mildly synonymous with "it was hell" at the end of the sentence. It could be argued that "disaster" might come into that category... but this is only offered as a possible option to be chewed over
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : Good ideas. / And actually "it was a nightmare" would be good for "fue un infierno" (more idiomatic than "it was hell", I think). So one of yours for "tiene huevos" would be good. "Cock-up" is best.
2 minutos
thanks Charles :)
agree Helena Chavarria : I think 'what a cock-up' works the best. And modern batteries go flat as soon as their time's up. It happened to me on Wednesday evening: after driving around the whole day when I went to start the car, there wasn't a spark of life left in the battery!
3 horas
Thanks Helena! And, oh dear... what a pain, it can't have been charging up properly!
agree franglish : With Charles and Helena// 'cock up' reflects the way this guy expresses himself; fiasco would be too stilted. Have a sunny day!
3 horas
thanks franglish! And I wonder if "fiasco" might work, although it might sound a little tame perhaps// Good point, franglish!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : also like "what a cock-up"
4 horas
thanks gallagy2 :)
agree Christine Walsh : I think 'cock-up' just fits the bill.
12 horas
Thanks Christine:))
Something went wrong...
1 hora
español term (edited): ¡Pero tiene huevos!

But it had a mind of its own!

This is my understanding here. This expression in English is often used for machines when they don't do what they're supposed to do (see definition via link below). I get the impression from the Spanish that the person saying this is being sarcastic with "tiene huevos", as in, the ambulance was (literally) really "ballsy" or "gutsy" (to mean "helpful"), but actually meant the opposite.
Example sentence:

Nos cogió una ambulancia y para Zaragoza. ¡Pero tiene huevos! La ambulancia por el camino se quedó sin batería, tuvo que venir otra a remolcarla, fue un infierno.

We took an ambulance to Zaragoza. But it had a mind of its own! The ambulance ran out of battery on the way, and another one had to come to tow it away, it was pure hell/a nightmare/etc.

Reference:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/have-a-mind-of-its-own

Something went wrong...
6 horas

wait for this / you're not going to believe this

Not a matter of whether this is the right translation of "tiene huevos", but of what fits, and I think either of these would be fine.

I notice that the second is v close to a suggestion by Peter, above.
Something went wrong...
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