Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
tigre agarrado por la cola
English translation:
had... the bull by the horns
Added to glossary by
Michael Powers (PhD)
Jul 20, 2008 21:57
15 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term
United States
US Court Cert. 1980 Ph.D. 1981
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
tigre agarrado por la cola
Spanish to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
La semana pasada, en uno de tus comunicados, bien mencionaste que ya teníamos a el tigre agarrado por la cola, y no deberíamos dejar que se nos escape. Esa mención está muy a tono con la situación actual de VeLog, y te comento mis pensamientos al respecto:
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+1
32 mins
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
138
Selected
had... the bull by the horns
ie, to be in control of the situation, not to be confused with "to take the bull by the horns" which = to confront a situation.
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A few egs, which I hope/think are relevant:
Two ways people cause problems in their organizations | View from ...
So the lessons are 1) Step up and take the bull by the horns, and (2) Once you have the bull by the horns, do what you said you’re were going to do. ...
blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p=186 - 58k - Cached - Similar pages
Sedimentary Geology : Impact of rapid sea level and climate change ...
The trick is, of course, to resist claiming that we have the bull-by-the-horns when in fact we are only holding a tip of the elephant's tusk. ...
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0037073803000915 - Similar pages
Small Times - Saxl builds global bridges, one molecule at a time
You have the bull by the horns, but I think the rest of the world is still trying to find out what is going on in their own patch and other people's patch. ...
www.smalltimes.com/.../269753/109/ARTCL/none/Profi/1/Saxl-b... - 64k - Cached - Similar pages
Remember... - Ocean Defenders - the weblog
15 Jan 2007 ... Please be careful this time around, ...while you guys have the bull by the horns, ...all we can do here is sit here and worry, ...a lot, . ...
weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefenders/archive/2007/01/remember.html - 27k
_____
A few egs, which I hope/think are relevant:
Two ways people cause problems in their organizations | View from ...
So the lessons are 1) Step up and take the bull by the horns, and (2) Once you have the bull by the horns, do what you said you’re were going to do. ...
blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p=186 - 58k - Cached - Similar pages
Sedimentary Geology : Impact of rapid sea level and climate change ...
The trick is, of course, to resist claiming that we have the bull-by-the-horns when in fact we are only holding a tip of the elephant's tusk. ...
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0037073803000915 - Similar pages
Small Times - Saxl builds global bridges, one molecule at a time
You have the bull by the horns, but I think the rest of the world is still trying to find out what is going on in their own patch and other people's patch. ...
www.smalltimes.com/.../269753/109/ARTCL/none/Profi/1/Saxl-b... - 64k - Cached - Similar pages
Remember... - Ocean Defenders - the weblog
15 Jan 2007 ... Please be careful this time around, ...while you guys have the bull by the horns, ...all we can do here is sit here and worry, ...a lot, . ...
weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefenders/archive/2007/01/remember.html - 27k
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Michael torhan (X)
26 mins
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thanks Michael!
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| neutral |
jude dabo
: the bull by the horns-total control.not in this case
49 mins
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sorry, I don't quite see what you're saying - please elucidate!
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| neutral |
Juan Jacob
: Tomar el toro por los cuernos tiene otro significado: quiere decir enfrentar una situación, no tener casi controlada a la fiera.
1 hr
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If you look more carefully at my explanation, you'll see that "having" and "taking" the bull by the horns have 2 different meanings. "Having" (my suggestion) is not the same as "taking", although I can understand yr confusion. Please read more carefully!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you so much. This is the option that I used and that I like most in this case. - Mike :)"
+1
59 mins
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
Specializes in field
Spain
Golf, Literature and Religion Specialist
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, Spanish
Related KudoZ points
:
24
to have the situation well in hand
Although less colloquial, this seems to me more to the point.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: I agree that this is the meaning, but less colloquial than my version of the same thing
17 hrs
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Thank you, Carol. I also like yours. It's just a matter of context
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1 hr
a tip of the elephant's tusk
from Carol Gullidge.fits
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: no it doesn't - if you look carefully at the ref, having the tip of the elephant's tusk is but a poor effigy of having the bull by the horns. The clue lies in that "only"
8 hrs
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all mixed up.think translateDCP should take the well deserved lead.cheers mates!!!
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1 hr
we had grasped the nettle
Think it means to take something of a risk, and this idiom is used a lot in the UK (perhaps due to there not being many tigers!).
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:42:02 GMT)
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A nettle of course, being a green plant that causes irritation when it makes contact with the skin! Certainly not a tiger, but we do use this idiom to refer to taking a risk and getting something done!
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:44:30 GMT)
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Also, here is one definition of "grab the tiger by the tail":http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_'Grab_the_tiger_by_...
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:49:02 GMT)
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Sorry, that link just goes to the home page. Anyway, it said:
What does 'Grab the tiger by the tail' mean?
Answer
It means "take the chance", or "run the risk". Go for it!
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:55:13 GMT)
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Here is "grasp the nettle":http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/grasp the nettl...
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:42:02 GMT)
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A nettle of course, being a green plant that causes irritation when it makes contact with the skin! Certainly not a tiger, but we do use this idiom to refer to taking a risk and getting something done!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:44:30 GMT)
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Also, here is one definition of "grab the tiger by the tail":http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_does_'Grab_the_tiger_by_...
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:49:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry, that link just goes to the home page. Anyway, it said:
What does 'Grab the tiger by the tail' mean?
Answer
It means "take the chance", or "run the risk". Go for it!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:55:13 GMT)
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Here is "grasp the nettle":http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/grasp the nettl...
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Denise Nahigian
: Hate to nitpick, but the source implies that they already have the tiger, not that they're about to grab it. I believe there is a subtle but definite difference.
14 hrs
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Feel free! I do think that "grasped the nettle" also implies that the grasping is already done, but I think that it's perhaps a fairly UK-specific term, so I am off to agree with your tiger suggestion!
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+4
9 mins
Denise Nahigian
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Academic & Legal Translation/Terminology
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
(we had) the tiger by the tail
I.e., we had the situation well in hand. (An idiom to explain an idiom!)
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:34:44 GMT)
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have a tiger by the tail - to find oneself in a situation from which it may be more dangerous or difficult to escape than to stay
http://www.yourdictionary.com/tiger
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Note added at 16 hrs (2008-07-21 14:05:06 GMT)
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As Jude points out, my explanation is NOT an equivalent idiom--thank you Jude, sorry everyone. Imagine having a tiger by the tail. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you're holding onto a furious beast and letting go will assure your meeting with its teeth... So if it is in fact a precarious position at VeLog, this idiom definitely works and fits the source text perfectly.
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-20 23:34:44 GMT)
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have a tiger by the tail - to find oneself in a situation from which it may be more dangerous or difficult to escape than to stay
http://www.yourdictionary.com/tiger
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Note added at 16 hrs (2008-07-21 14:05:06 GMT)
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As Jude points out, my explanation is NOT an equivalent idiom--thank you Jude, sorry everyone. Imagine having a tiger by the tail. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but now you're holding onto a furious beast and letting go will assure your meeting with its teeth... So if it is in fact a precarious position at VeLog, this idiom definitely works and fits the source text perfectly.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
jude dabo
: a tiger by the tail-danger!you can not be in control of a situation like than.Not a good idea.
18 mins
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You have a point--perhaps the situation is NOT well in hand! Still, the line "and we'd better not let it escape" may refer to a certain danger rather than letting an opportunity slip.
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| agree |
Janine Libbey
4 hrs
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Thanks--Viva Madrid!
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| agree |
Dave 72
: I think the translation you suggested works well (even if we never agree over the exact meaning!)
17 hrs
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Thanks Dave--this is very gracious!
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| agree |
Enrique Huber (X)
19 hrs
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Thank you, Enrique!
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| agree |
Teresa Duran-Sanchez
: De hecho, la expresión en el original es una traducción literal del inglés, resulta algo extraña para un nativo español (ver mi nota arriba)
4 days
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Gracias, Teresa!
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Discussion