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agarrar rabos

English translation: grabs people by the tail

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:agarrar rabos
English translation:grabs people by the tail

20:33 Aug 30, 2015
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2015-09-03 16:54:09 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Slang / Mexico
Spanish term or phrase: agarrar rabos
Context is an article about "reefer madness" and the hysteria with which marijuana came to be perceived in Mexico after the 19th century.

Surrounding text reads «¡La mariguana es mala, maléfica, aciaga y siniestra, mata, aniquila, devora, agarra los rabos, los zarandea y arroja los cuerpos a las calderas humeantes del infierno!»

I can figure out the rest.

Thanks in advance.
offset
United States
Local time: 05:06
grabs people by the tail
Explanation:
I don't think this is actually offensive, though there's no doubt that if you google it you find yourself wading through a lot of porn in search of something useful. Maybe the expression has a colloquial meaning, but I can't find one. Obviously "rabo" has a vulgar slang meaning (two, in fact; it can also mean "nalgas"), and "agarrarlas alguien del rabo" means "encontrarse en situación de escasez económica" in Costa Rica, but I don't think any of this is relevant here.

I think it has its literal meaning, as part of a graphic evocation of what marihuana supposedly does to people: it "grabs them by the tail, swings them around and hurls their bodies into the steaming cauldrons of hell". It conjures up the idea of perdition via the drug "taking hold" of them, suggesting how it befuddles them. It also implies reducing people to an animal state, as you might grab an animal by the tail and swing it around (now that really is offensive).

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Note added at 3 days20 hrs (2015-09-03 16:55:19 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks for the info! This is a very interesting subject. Maybe I'll check out this author.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 14:06
Grading comment
sounds about right. FYI, author is Jorge Garcia-Robles (though this is just a quote), who wrote «La bala perdida: William Burroughs en México». He has a new book out called «Anthology of Vice: The Adventures and Misadventures of Marijuana in MexicoÂ
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3grabs people by the tail
Charles Davis


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
grabs people by the tail


Explanation:
I don't think this is actually offensive, though there's no doubt that if you google it you find yourself wading through a lot of porn in search of something useful. Maybe the expression has a colloquial meaning, but I can't find one. Obviously "rabo" has a vulgar slang meaning (two, in fact; it can also mean "nalgas"), and "agarrarlas alguien del rabo" means "encontrarse en situación de escasez económica" in Costa Rica, but I don't think any of this is relevant here.

I think it has its literal meaning, as part of a graphic evocation of what marihuana supposedly does to people: it "grabs them by the tail, swings them around and hurls their bodies into the steaming cauldrons of hell". It conjures up the idea of perdition via the drug "taking hold" of them, suggesting how it befuddles them. It also implies reducing people to an animal state, as you might grab an animal by the tail and swing it around (now that really is offensive).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days20 hrs (2015-09-03 16:55:19 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the info! This is a very interesting subject. Maybe I'll check out this author.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 14:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 64
Grading comment
sounds about right. FYI, author is Jorge Garcia-Robles (though this is just a quote), who wrote «La bala perdida: William Burroughs en México». He has a new book out called «Anthology of Vice: The Adventures and Misadventures of Marijuana in Mexico�

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  lorenab23: Yes Charlicito :-)
29 mins
  -> Thanks, Lorenita ;-) It's a vivid image!
agree  neilmac
11 hrs
  -> Many thanks, Neil ;)
agree  Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales: Bam! Nailed! :-)
12 hrs
  -> Thanks a lot, Liz :)
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