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nose under the tent

Portuguese translation: o primeiro passo/tentativa (de uma série)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:nose under the tent
Portuguese translation:o primeiro passo/tentativa (de uma série)
Entered by: Cristina Paixão Lopes

18:40 Mar 2, 2011
English to Portuguese translations [PRO]
Slang
English term or phrase: nose under the tent
Cultural transformation indeed, I thought. But right on. My layman’s view of the future of warfare was shaped by Major General Bob Scales, the retired head of the U.S. Army War College, a military historian, and the author of the brilliant essay “Clausewitz and World War IV,” in the Armed Forces Journal. General Scales argued that World War I was a chemical war, World War II was a physics and mathematics war, World War III was a computer war, and that World War IV (which we have entered into already) would be a human war. No sane enemy would confront the United States in the air, on the sea, or with missiles. We are five for five in that kind of warfare. Unfortunately, all the wars that we have fought recently are human wars, and we are zero for seven in these. Vietnam and Iraq are paradigm examples. So it is time for the army to get serious about the human sciences, concludes Scales. An army that was just as psychologically fit as physically fit would be the nose under the tent.

Encontrei a seguinte explicação: the meaning is based on the fanciful idea that a camel will stick his nose into your tent, and if you do nothing about it, he'll get his whole head in, then his neck, and, eventually be destructively blundering around in a space where he doesn't belong. The moral of the story is to prevent damage by taking action early. (A stitch in time, as it were.) If your nosy neighbor comes to your house without invitatiion, and you say nothing, pretty soon the nieghbor will be barging in without knocking (as they do on sitcoms.) Similar to warnings about "the slippery slope."

Alguma sugestão, em português, que se encaixe no contexto?

Obrigada desde já.
Cristina Paixão Lopes
o primeiro passo/tentativa (de uma série)
Explanation:
The Camel's Nose In The Tent.

One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself

http://camelphotos.com/tales_nose.html

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Note added at 40 mins (2011-03-02 19:20:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

While Iran is not Russia, and Venezuela is not Cuba, this initial deployment of Iranian missiles and their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) crews is merely the first step, or as we say in the Middle East, the "nose under the tent.

http://francona.blogspot.com/2010/12/nose-under-tent-iranian...
Selected response from:

Marlene Curtis
United States
Local time: 16:36
Grading comment
Obrigada Marlene - e a todos.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3o primeiro passo/tentativa (de uma série)
Marlene Curtis
5 -1pontapé inicial
coolbrowne
4...significaria que viria inevitável e gradualmente a agravar a situação.
Leonor Machado
4 -1meter o nariz onde não é chamado
Marta Caldeira
4 -1avassalador, invencível, arrasador
Salvador Scofano and Gry Midttun
3só o início
Nick Taylor
3 -1teria maior poder de infiltração e controle
Adriana Maciel


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
meter o nariz onde não é chamado


Explanation:
Só me ocorre esta expressão.
Não sei se será o que procura.

Marta Caldeira
Local time: 21:36
Native speaker of: Portuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  coolbrowne: Não é este o sentido deste "nariz".
1 hr
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16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
teria maior poder de infiltração e controle


Explanation:
sugestão

Adriana Maciel
Brazil
Local time: 17:36
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 6

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  coolbrowne: Mudaria completamente o sentido
1 hr
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20 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
avassalador, invencível, arrasador


Explanation:
De acordo com a metáfora do camelo

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2011-03-02 19:08:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Se o poder militar tivesse um capacidade psicológica semelhante à capacidade física seria...avassalador, invencível, arrasador

Salvador Scofano and Gry Midttun
Norway
Local time: 22:36
Native speaker of: Native in NorwegianNorwegian, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 36

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  coolbrowne: Absolutamente nada a ver.
1 hr
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31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
o primeiro passo/tentativa (de uma série)


Explanation:
The Camel's Nose In The Tent.

One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself

http://camelphotos.com/tales_nose.html

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 40 mins (2011-03-02 19:20:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

While Iran is not Russia, and Venezuela is not Cuba, this initial deployment of Iranian missiles and their Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) crews is merely the first step, or as we say in the Middle East, the "nose under the tent.

http://francona.blogspot.com/2010/12/nose-under-tent-iranian...

Marlene Curtis
United States
Local time: 16:36
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 80
Grading comment
Obrigada Marlene - e a todos.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Eduardo Villas: http://francona.blogspot.com/2010/12/nose-under-tent-iranian...
4 mins
  -> Thanks for the great reference! I am stealing it!
agree  Paulo Marcon: Dar começo a alguma coisa >> get a foot in the door.
3 hrs
  -> Grata!
agree  Marcos Antonio
4 hrs
  -> Grata!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -1
pontapé inicial


Explanation:
Se bem entendo o sentido está bem entendido (primeiro passo/etapa). O que se procura é uma metáfora brasileira que reproduza esse sentido. No Brasil, o futebol é fonte frequente de tais metáforas. A expressão "pontapé inicial" não só contém o elemento parcial "primeiro passo", mas também implica um passo no sentido do sucesso, que é outro elemento essencial de "nose under the tent".

coolbrowne
United States
Local time: 16:36
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Marlene Curtis: Não neste contexto. A expressão não implica necessariamente em sucesso.
2 hrs
  -> Con cor do com a segunda frase mas não háque confundir buscar o sucesso com atingí-lo.
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
...significaria que viria inevitável e gradualmente a agravar a situação.


Explanation:
The camel's nose is a metaphor for a situation where permitting some small undesirable situation will allow gradual and unavoidable worsening. A typical usage is this, from U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater in 1958:



Leonor Machado
Local time: 21:36
Native speaker of: Portuguese
PRO pts in category: 16
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
só o início


Explanation:
só o início

Nick Taylor
Local time: 21:36
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 19
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