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se pierde un poco el corazón
confront alfab
May 24, 2005 17:43
19 yrs ago
4 viewers *
Spanish term

traído de los pelos

Spanish to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings idiomatic expression
Examples: El ejemplo que dio fue traído de los pelos, meaning it was something made there on the spot, not made technically or scientifically, and usually it is something not well done. Hizo todo traído de los pelos, siempre hace las cosas traída de los pelos... etc.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 flying by the seat of one's pants
5 +5 farfetched/far-fetched
4 +2 as if out of the blue
5 +1 jerry built//jury rigged
4 +1 came out of nowhere
5 dragged into the job
4 off the cuff // on the spur of the moment

Discussion

Elena Rodríguez May 25, 2005:
If you could provide the whole sentence and also what kind of Spanish you translate from; traer o llevar a alquien de los pelos, means, to me (Spaniard), dragged from the hair (like troglodites); (coger algo) por los pelos, es m�s como lo comentado
Refugio May 24, 2005:
"Off the cuff" means improvised, but not necessarily in a bad way. It is said that Lincoln composed the Gettysburg Address by writing it on the starched cuff of his shirt, and that its much-admired succintness and brevity was due to its small size.
Refugio May 24, 2005:
Plucked out of the ether is another way of saying plucked out of thin air, that is to say, something without too much substance.
Ernesto de Lara May 24, 2005:
in mx., often simply is said "de los pelos". In opposite sense, "de pelos" means that something is suitable for its use or it is very nice.
Non-ProZ.com May 24, 2005:
I like the one "plucked out of the ether" given by Ruth, but does it have something of a bad connotation to it? I think it may have, right?
Also "out of the cuff", that has all the "improvised" air to it...
Non-ProZ.com May 24, 2005:
Also, there is some bad connotation about "tra�do de los pelos", o "a los tirones". "Se termin� recibiendo a los tirones". "Esa decisi�n est� tra�da de los pelos", meaning "improvised, forced..."

Proposed translations

+1
5 mins
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos
Selected

flying by the seat of one's pants

Idiom: fly by the seat of one's pants

To do a job instinctively or by feel when one doesn't know the usual procedure.

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Note added at 6 mins (2005-05-24 17:50:19 GMT)
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or plucked out of the ether

The Million Word March - This Aphorism Affliction
... All these quotations that are plucked out of the ether in the course of
conversation, are they deliberately fashioned or were they originally just ...
www.dawtrina.com/million/2001-05-18.html - 9k - Cached - Similar pages

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Note added at 10 mins (2005-05-24 17:54:28 GMT)
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like a magician\'s coin plucked from behind the ear

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Note added at 55 mins (2005-05-24 18:39:22 GMT)
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or a card pulled from one\'s sleeve
Peer comment(s):
agree Oso (X) : "by the seat of one's pants" = por los pelos, a la fuerza Simon & Schuster's Bil. Dict. ¶:^) o sea justamente la expresión que Martin está preguntando ¶:^)
2 hrs
Guau, thanks, Osito
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Actually, I could use any one of yours: they are all appropriate to different contexts. Thank you. Mine requires of this one. Thanks Ruth."
+1
4 mins
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos

came out of nowhere

It's an option for what your text is saying.
Peer comment(s):
agree Cecilia Della Croce
34 mins
Muchas gracias, Cecilia!
Something went wrong...
5 mins
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos

off the cuff // on the spur of the moment

A few more possibilities.

Mike :)
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+2
1 min
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos

as if out of the blue

:)

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Note added at 2 mins (2005-05-24 17:45:54 GMT)
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or: on the spur of the moment

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Note added at 3 mins (2005-05-24 17:46:42 GMT)
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\"made\" on the spur of the moment

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Note added at 5 mins (2005-05-24 17:49:32 GMT)
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made \"off the cuff\" ... another way of putting it
Peer comment(s):
agree Oso (X) : "off the cuff" me parece perfecto. En México decimos mucho: "se lo sacó de la manga", "sacárselo de la manga" en un caso así. Saludos ¶:^)
9 mins
agree Ivannia Garcia
11 mins
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+5
10 mins
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos

farfetched/far-fetched

(He) gave a farfetched example -or- (His) example was quite farfetched.
Good luck ;-)
Alejandra
Peer comment(s):
agree Eduardo Pérez
19 mins
Thanks, Eduardo!
agree Cecilia Della Croce
27 mins
Thank you, Cecilia ;-)
agree María Teresa Taylor Oliver : That's the first thing that came to mind when I read the question...
28 mins
Thanks, María Teresa. Regards!
agree BAmary (X)
56 mins
Thanks, BAmary !
agree Delia Giménez Acuña (X)
4 hrs
Thank you, Delia. Regards.
Something went wrong...
11 mins
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos

dragged into the job

grabbed by the hair and dragged into the job
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr
Spanish term (edited): tra�do de los pelos

jerry built//jury rigged

Although they have come to mean the same thing, "jerry built" is poorly built, while "jury-rigged" means something done hastily on the spot.

- Similar pages

"jerry-built"/"jury-rigged"
FAQ article: jerry-built / jury-rigged. ... "jerry-built"/"jury-rigged". (Word
Origins) "Jury-rigged", which means "assembled in a makeshift manner", ...
www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifjrrybltjryrggd.shtml
Peer comment(s):
agree jrb : yes, makeshift as in your definition also possible
18 mins
thanks, Jessica. Makeshift works, too.
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