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1500 questions
8
votes
1 answer
¿Cómo llegó la expresión "eureka" al español?
Supongo que todos conocen la palabra eureka, vocablo español que nos llegó del griego y que se usa cuando se encuentra algo (normalmente la solución a un problema) tras buscar mucho tiempo.
La mayoría la conocerá por Arquímedes, pues cuenta la…
user13628
8
votes
2 answers
How can I tell someone what I'm reading about?
I was reading a book, and someone asked me, "¿Qué estás leyendo?"
I answered, "Estoy leyendo sobre ..."
The person looked at me funny, but seemed to understand what I said.
Looking back, it makes sense that sobre was the wrong choice.
What is the…
Nathan Greenstein
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8
votes
1 answer
Paso de B a U: ¿evolución fonética o falta de ortografía?
A raíz de la pregunta ¿Existe alguna reminiscencia en el español actual de la confusión "u/v" de la Edad Media? y de esta su respuesta, me ha surgido una duda.
Tomemos dos ejemplos de evolución de palabras:
Evolución de "ciudad": lat. CIVITATEM →…
user13628
8
votes
4 answers
Spanish version for "when life gives you lemons..."
There is an English saying:
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
According to the Wikipedia, it is said "to encourage optimism and a positive can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune". This seems to be a phrase that has been…
Charlie
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8
votes
2 answers
How to create Spanish inversion?
As a person with a French background, I would like to know the rules for inversion in Spanish. You can form a question by inverting the subject and verb like so:
¿Bebemos nosotras leche?
And, you will most likely leave out the nosotras when…
Jonathan
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8
votes
2 answers
What does "alto" mean on a stop sign?
In my Spanish class, we learned that the verb for "to stop" is "parar", but many stop signs have the word "alto" on them instead of "pare" as the command form of "parar". I asked why, but no one was sure. Why is "alto" on a stop sign? What does it…
米凯乐
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8
votes
1 answer
¿Qué significa “D.A.R.” en los créditos de este álbum?
Estoy buscando datos de unas canciones que tengo en mi colección. Este CD tiene versiones de unas de estas canciones, pero algunas tienen solamente “D.A.R.” como compositor:
Dada la naturaleza de estas canciones, creo que “D.A.R.” significa algo…
Peter Schilling
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8
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1 answer
"Andaba" with "cerrando"
I have come across the sentence:
Andaba cerrando un negocio.
I take this to mean literally "I was walking closing a deal."
Can someone please explain this sentence where it makes a little more sense? Is that just the way it is when you're closing…
Jimmy Dawson
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8
votes
6 answers
Describing the common cold or flu in Spanish
In English, when talking about common viruses people get, there are generally two categories:
a cold is generally mild and can come with runny nose, sneezing, coughing, sore throat etc.
a flu is generally more severe and can bring fever, chills,…
jrdioko
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8
votes
1 answer
¿Qué significa "púlveo"?
En el microrrelato Botellas de Graciela Tomassini aparece la siguiente oración:
Vaciadas de los licores que alguna vez contuvieron, las variopintas redomas conservan un sedimento púlveo o viscoso de vino, sangre, tósigo, agua tofana, cuya…
User X
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8
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7 answers
Translation Golf XXXIII - The Mirror of Galadriel
We have a winner! user5389726598465, with an 54-letter answer (59 with a minor fix), found the shortest translation of the Mirror of Galadriel.
Winner:
Qué le refleja el espejo mágico, ni los listos lo saben. Que es, fue, y será. Ve.
In bold…
Ender Look
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8
votes
2 answers
Why is "vamos" used for command but not the imperative "vayamos"?
I don't understand why people use vamos (present) to say "let's go", but not "vayamos" (imperative/subj. present).
Is there a special reason to use "vamos" (vámonos) instead of "vayamos" (vayámonos) to say "let's go" (let's leave)?
iBug
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8
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Why "a favor" and "en contra" use such particular different prepositions?
The other day I was talking to someone who is learning Spanish, and she said, amid an expression, "en favor o a contra", instead of "a favor o en contra". After correcting her, she asked me why the custom of using "a" and "en" in one way and not the…
luchonacho
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8
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2 answers
El curioso caso de los planetas en el diccionario
Me resulta muy curiosa la definición de planeta en los diccionarios antiguos, y de lo que voy a mencionar a continuación seguramente se puedan sacar varias preguntas. Vamos por orden.
Definición de planeta en 1611:
PLANETAS, siete cuerpos…
Charlie
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8
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2 answers
What is the meaning of "tomatazo"?
To give a bit of context, in the line:
Recibió una lluvia de tomatazos. ("He was pelted with tomatoes.")
The word tomatazos is used rather than tomates. What is the meaning of tomatazo?
I've consulted dictionaries and SpanishDict and am no…
A. Bell
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