Spanish word of the day
Quote: NareedSo "it has no feet nor head." it means "it makes no sense," and is a fair translation for "this whole thing is ridiculous."
The translator of the book clearly likes idioms. It is supposed to be a humorous children's book (which is all my Spanish can handle) so I think such idioms make it more funny.
So, care to explain where this expression comes from? I guess something with no feet or head, but the rest of the body, would make no sense, but there must be some kind of story behind it. Perhaps we can stump Paco on this one.
Quote: WizardSo, care to explain where this expression comes from?
Not really :)
Quote:I guess something with no feet or head, but the rest of the body, would make no sense, but there must be some kind of story behind it.
I don't think that's it. I can think of a story, but it's so wrong in this context that I wont' bring it up (don't even ask).
More likely it's similar to the english expression "I can't make heads or tails of this." In other words don't take it too literally. The expression probably means "I can't make out the top or the bottom of this thing, so I don't know how it's supposed to go."
Quote:Perhaps we can stump Paco on this one.
It's more his kind of thing than mine :)
Quote: NareedMore likely it's similar to the english expression "I can't make heads or tails of this."
Maybe that expression comes from foreign coins that are so bizarre you don't know which side is heads and which is tails.
Quote: WizardSo, care to explain where this expression comes from? I guess something with no feet or head, but the rest of the body, would make no sense, but there must be some kind of story behind it. Perhaps we can stump Paco on this one.
The English phrase is widely used by famous authors. The British use it in the singular, and Americans tend to say it in plural.
(1) She could make neither head nor tail of it, nor was there another word to give a clue to its meaning, so at last from constant repetition it became a commonplace and she gave it no further thought.- Edgar Rice Burroughs.
(2) But listen as he would, the prince could make neither head nor tail of it., Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The phrase "head or tail" is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "one thing or another", so that would make sense if you can't "make one thing or another of it". But we don't normally use it that way in modern English.
The Spanish phrase no tiene ni pies ni cabeza. has an equivlalent in both European and Brasilian Portuguese: não tem pés nem cabeça. In Catalanese it is no trobar ni caps ni peus.
Tail is from an Old English word tægl so we wouldn't expect the a cognate in the Romance languages. Perhaps "foot" serves the purpose just as well.
I gues I didn't tell you I drive past the Angel often. It's on the intersection of Reforma and Florencia/Rio Tiber. The latter empties into Ejercito Nacional Mexicano, which then gets renamed Rio San Joaquin, which is the way to the office, or, when I'm going home, the way to Conscripto Avenue. If nothing else, I drive past it every Saturday after electrolysis.
Oh, one odd habit in Mexico is to rename streets midway through. for example, if you get on Monterrey, it gets renamed Florencia past Chapultepec Avenue, then Rio Tiber past Reforma.
Quote: NareedBTW Wizard you really managed to move a round a fair bit. Did you amke it to the Angel? It's only a few kilometers along the same avenue as the Caballito fountain in your first picture.
I'm afraid not. I studied my map quite a bit, but I judged it to be too far away to take the chance of missing my flight. I'm very anal about getting to airports on time.
Quote: NareedOh, one odd habit in Mexico is to rename streets midway through. for example, if you get on Monterrey, it gets renamed Florencia past Chapultepec Avenue, then Rio Tiber past Reforma.
We do that here too. It seems especially bad on the west coast. Fort Apache changes to Rampart when it crosses Charleston. However, Orange County, California, is really bad. For example, Seal Beach Blvd. changes to Los Alamitos Blvd. and then changes to Norwalk Blvd. The border between Orange and Los Angeles Counties is in a very urban area, and just about every street changes name when it crosses the border. For example, Katella changes to Willow, and Cerritos changes to Spring.
Quote: WizardI'm afraid not. I studied my map quite a bit, but I judged it to be too far away to take the chance of missing my flight. I'm very anal about getting to airports on time.
On the one hand, you'd have made it easy. On the other hand, I'm the same way about missing fligths.
Quote: NareedOn the one hand, you'd have made it easy. On the other hand, I'm the same way about missing fligths.
Dang. I'm sure you're right, as I got back to the airport with 1.5 hours to spare. However, it seemed several miles away, according to my reading of the map, and I've heard (ahem) that Mexico City traffic can get bad. I also considered taking the subte at the Zocalo station, but it didn't seem to go directly there.
Quote: WizardDang. I'm sure you're right, as I got back to the airport with 1.5 hours to spare. However, it seemed several miles away, according to my reading of the map, and I've heard (ahem) that Mexico City traffic can get bad.
Do you know the Arab fable about the man who flees from Death in Baghdad? The point si that you can try, but you won't escape death. Well, in Mex City you can try, but you usually won't beat Traffic. If you escape Traffic by taking Viaducto, it will follow you there :)
In other words, you bet the right way.
Quote:I also considered taking the subte at the Zocalo station, but it didn't seem to go directly there.
Please. Here we call it "el metro."
But you were right again. There are no stations really close to El Angel, and getting to the airport isn't easy. I don't even know if there's a station in Terminal 2.
Quote: WizardDang. I'm sure you're right, as I got back to the airport with 1.5 hours to spare. However, it seemed several miles away, according to my reading of the map, and I've heard (ahem) that Mexico City traffic can get bad. I also considered taking the subte at the Zocalo station, but it didn't seem to go directly there.
That is an understatement. You actually have to take four different trains to get from the Zocalo to Airport. And the straight line distance is only 3 miles.
I don't think I would take the subte, as I have heard too many terrible stories. It seems like a false economy, as taxi rates are fairly low.
Las Vegas now has fairly decent service to Mexico.
Aeroméxico - Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey
Volaris - Guadalajara, Mexico City
VivaAerobus - Monterrey
NH in Mexico city is very convenient and in a good neighborhood.
Have lunch at La Casa de los Azulejos
Quote: pacomartinThat is an understatement. You actually have to take four different trains to get from the Zocalo to Airport.
Three. Take the blue line to the brown line, and thence to the yellow one. Get off at Terminal Aerea, assuming that's anywhere close to T2 and not on T1.
Quote:I don't think I would take the subte,
I wouldn't take the subway in Buenos Aires to get to the Mex City airport, either :P
Quote:as I have heard too many terrible stories.
Urban legend.
Really. Millions of people, literally, take el metro every day. 99.99% suffer no ill effects.
Quote:It seems like a false economy, as taxi rates are fairly low.
Because you're a rich American tourist, not a middle class local trying to make ends meet. A metro ticket is 3 pesos, or about US 0.22. A cab to the airport from the Zocalo runs you about 70 pesos, or about US $5.20. That's cheap, but not for a Mexican citizen who pays property taxes (to pay subsidies to el metro, among other things), tuittion, exhorbitant eletricity rates, etc.
Besides, I once made the ride from Cerro de la Estrella to Polanco in under 35 minutes. At the time it cost 2 pesos. So that's the longest and cheapest ride I've ever amde within the city. Look it up in your map.
Quote:Have lunch at La Casa de los Azulejos
The building's pretty but the restaurant is a Sanborns. Think of it as a pretentious Denny's.
A better idea is to look at the building from outside. Nice places for lunch include El Cafe de Tacuba in Polanco, any El Farolito, El Tizoncito or El Fogoncito taco place, Los Panchos in the Corner of Tolstoy and Mariano Escobedo for carnitas, and if you want a swank, expensive and very good Mexican place, try La Hacienda de Los Morales in Polanco, or less expensive Villa María also in Polanco (Polanco is the nearest thign to Rodeo Drive in Mex City, compelte with Cartier and Bulgari stores; it's really nice, and a nightmare to drive through).
For a change from Mexican, there are very nice Italian, Chinese and Japanese restaurants nearby.
Quote: NareedReally. Millions of people, literally, take el metro every day. 99.99% suffer no ill effects.
¿Significa esto que cientos de personas sufren efectos perjudiciales a todos los días?
Quote: Doc¿Significa esto que cientos de personas sufren efectos perjudiciales a todos los días?
Nice. You should join us in the SWD more often.
However, being a man of science, I'm surprised by your comment. When making decisions regarding risk and reward in life we should be looking at probabilities, not absolute numbers. There are dangers taking taxis as well. It wouldn't surprise me if all things considered the subway is safer.
For example, I ranted a while back when the mainstream media came out with their list of the 10 most stolen cars in America. That isn't what the average person should care out, it should be the most frequently stolen cars.
Quote: Doc¿Significa esto que cientos de personas sufren efectos perjudiciales a todos los días?
Maybe. but read what the Wizard wrote.
Also, 100% of all living people eventually die. From this we can conclude that living is hazardous to your health. Therefore, well, it gets really ridiculous after that :P
Quote: WizardNice. You should join us in the SWD more often.
What? You already imposed a penalty on me once for posting in this thread without using any Spanish. Of course, when I paid that penalty, I pointed out that I know no Spanish, so you don't think I really come up with these few phrases on my own, do you?
Quote: WizardHowever, being a man of science, I'm surprised by your comment. When making decisions regarding risk and reward in life we should be looking at probabilities, not absolute numbers.
In fact, I was intending my comment in the opposite direction (I think). I do expect that there are a fair number of people who are injured, robbed, attacked, fall ill, or suffer some other kind of ill effects. But my suspicion was that it doesn't run into hundreds of people every day. Perhaps I underestimate such things. Anyway, I meant to be suggesting that perhaps there should really be more 9s after the decimal point in Nareed's post. It's just that 99.99% sounds so close to 100%.
What's your guess? Should the probability of no ill effects be estimated higher, or are there really hundreds of riders suffering such ills every day?
Quote: NareedAlso, 100% of all living people eventually die.
Yes, but check with FrGamble -- it's my understanding that at least two have reportedly risen from the dead. Without being zombies. |P
Quote: DocWhat? You already imposed a penalty on me once for posting in this thread without using any Spanish.
That rule has been rescinded.
Quote:What's your guess? Should the probability of no ill effects be estimated higher, or are there really hundreds of riders suffering such ills every day?
It depends on what you mean by ill effects. If you count being stepped on, loosing something, forgetting something in a car, falling down the stairs, getting a bruise from a jostle, etc, etc, then it's more likely tens of thousands a day.
Quote: NareedUrban legend. Really. Millions of people, literally, take el metro every day. 99.99% suffer no ill effects.
Because you're a rich American tourist, not a middle class local trying to make ends meet. A metro ticket is 3 pesos, or about US 0.22. A cab to the airport from the Zocalo runs you about 70 pesos, or about US $5.20. That's cheap, but not for a Mexican citizen who pays property taxes (to pay subsidies to el metro, among other things), tuition, exhorbitant eletricity rates, etc.
For a change from Mexican, there are very nice Italian, Chinese and Japanese restaurants nearby.
Nareed, that is my point. The Wizard is an American tourist and 70 pesos is not much money to him. Logically, someone is going to target an American tourist on the subway. Many American guidebooks also tell you not to hail a taxi on the street in Mexico city, particularly the commonplace modified green Volkswagon bug. The guidebooks warn you that you can be kidnapped in such a taxi, and you should always go to your hotel desk and have them hail a four door cab at three times the price.
While I am sure that has happened, I think it is too much to worry about.
If the Wizard moved to Mexico city, and lived on the local economy, he probably would take the subway. But he wouldn't carry a bag and a camera, and he would put his money somewhere where he couldn't be pickpocketed. That is just urban common sense. If it's your city, you are not going to take taxis routinely.
I doubt that most visitors to Mexico can get tired of good Mexican cuisine over the length of their short stay. My personal recommendation is to try Basque food, if you want to go European. Basque restaurants are extremely rare in the USA. Also Spanish places are not very common, and many Americans have never been to one. Nearly everyone has eaten Italian or Chinese food.
I do not like Japanese restaurants in Mexico. I've tried several, and they were always terrible.
Quote: pacomartinNareed, that is my point. The Wizard is an American tourist and 70 pesos is not much money to him.
It's not much money to me, either. I take the subway only when 1) I know there is no convenient parking where I'm going or 2) I know traffic will be impenetrable. Last time I did, as I recall, was to head near El Caballito when Reforma and Juarez were closed by a protest.
Quote:Logically, someone is going to target an American tourist on the subway.
Oh, well, maybe. Then again maybe not. You'll often see regular lower middle class people carrying beat up cardbaord boxes. Often they ahve nothing valuable, but I've known some carry large wads of cash in them. You can bet the criminals know this, too.
Quote:Many American guidebooks also tell you not to hail a taxi on the street in Mexico city, particularly the commonplace modified green Volkswagon bug.
:) Many American guidebooks are out of date. The green cabs are long gone. Every few years, for some reason, the local government changes paint shcemes on cabs and microbuses.
But, sure, you run a slight risk taking a cab off the street. Not as large as it used to be, though. When I can, I'll get a "sitio" cab. But that's not always an option.
Quote:If the Wizard moved to Mexico city, and lived on the local economy, he probably would take the subway.
I doubt it. He'd have a car and suffer in traffic snarls like the rest of us ;)
Quote:My personal recommendation is to try Basque food, if you want to go European.
I dind't know there were any Basque restaurants here, or there exists such a thing as Basque cuisine...
Quote:I do not like Japanese restaurants in Mexico. I've tried several, and they were always terrible.
Which ones? Granted joints like El Sushi Ito and Mr. Sushi are overrated and can't tell tepanyaki from teriyaki to save their lives, but Daruma is pretty good, if outrageously expensive. Offhand I can't recall any others by name, but those with a good tepan grill are very nice. The problem is these places tend to sprout briefly and then close down.
BTW it takes a lot for me to say that of a Japanese restaurant, considering I don't eat fish or sea food, and would not try sushi if you put a gun to my head.
Quote: NareedI dind't know there were any Basque restaurants here, or there exists such a thing as Basque cuisine...
Which ones? Granted joints like El Sushi Ito and Mr. Sushi are overrated and can't tell tepanyaki from teriyaki to save their lives, but Daruma is pretty good, if outrageously expensive. Offhand I can't recall any others by name, but those with a good tepan grill are very nice. The problem is these places tend to sprout briefly and then close down. BTW it takes a lot for me to say that of a Japanese restaurant, considering I don't eat fish or sea food, and would not try sushi if you put a gun to my head.
Article on Basque cusine. I went to tezka in Zona Rosa, but I am not sure if it is still open. Their website is down.
I haven't spent that many days in Mexico city. So I never tried a place like Daruma (which looks superb and expensive). I have tried Japanese in Acapulco, Oaxaca, and Cancun. Sushi Itto had two locations in San Diego, and I thought they were very good. The sushi was mediocre, but the rolls with a Mexican twist were excellent. But when I went to a Sushi Itto in Mexico it was terrible.
BTW I am very fascinated by both Profirio Diaz and Benito Juárez. You are correct in saying that Diaz was a Francophile. He left his mark in French style buildings in a number of places in Mexico city. I understand that when he finally ended up being exiled to Paris, he died complaining about the food, and he missed his Oaxaca cuisine.
It's tempting to think of them as the good and evil devils of Mexico, but it's interesting how much similarity is in their background.
Besides trips to the Panama Canal, the dinner between President Taft and President Diaz on 16-Oct-1909 was the first international trip of a sitting US President.
President Diaz, Hero of the Americas, by James Creelman is one of the most fascinating interviews I have ever read. I always felt like James Creelman knew what he was doing, and ihe knew that he was providing the ammunition to bring down the dictatorship. Of course, I have the benefit of historical hindsight, so I may be imagining things.
Quote: pacomartinThe Wizard is an American tourist and 70 pesos is not much money to him. Logically, someone is going to target an American tourist on the subway.
When I showed my Spanish tutor my pictures from Buenos Aires she was laughing her head off.
She said I stood out like a 100% no-doubt-about-it Yankee. I tried to defend myself -- saying that it was HOT. She responded by saying that it is hot for the locals too, but they don't go around with shorts, a pink t-shirt, backpack, and a baseball hat. Thankfully, she said, nobody tried to rob me.
This picture, by the way, is from the tomb of Evita.
Quote: pacomartinI haven't spent that many days in Mexico city. So I never tried a place like Daruma (which looks superb and expensive). I have tried Japanese in Acapulco, Oaxaca, and Cancun. Sushi Itto had two locations in San Diego, and I thought they were very good.
Daruma has been there at Reforma near Periferico for ages. It was there long before Japanese food gained popularity in the late 80s. I hear the Sushi Itto set up due to the many Mexicans who've moved to San Diego. It kind of amkes sense, but I doubt even Lomas kids would miss their sushi that badly...
Quote:The sushi was mediocre, but the rolls with a Mexican twist were excellent. But when I went to a Sushi Itto in Mexico it was terrible.
Well, my paculiarities aside, I find their menu both overpriced and bland. There's a fast food joint called Teriyaki San, which is really mediocre but manages to beat itto in both price and taste (even though I can't figure out their penchant for squash in the soba); and they know what teriyaki is.
Quote:BTW I am very fascinated by both Profirio Diaz and Benito Juárez. [..] It's tempting to think of them as the good and evil devils of Mexico, but it's interesting how much similarity is in their background.
Both of them were dictators, it's a simple as that, and both were despots. Juarez, though, had the fortune, if you want to call it that, of booting the French out fo the country. Adn what he stole belonged to the church, so... Días, on the other hand, was never popular.
What's really ironic is the 1910 Revolutionary slogan used against Diaz "Sufragio efectivo, no reelección." Meaning "Effective suffrage, no re-election." Díaz used that slogan against Juarez in his day. Oh, well.
Quote: WizardShe said I stood out like a 100% no-doubt-about-it Yankee. I tried to defend myself -- saying that it was HOT.
1) It takes a brave man to wear pink.
2) You were dressed just like that in Vegas the day we met (minus the ball cap; you should really lose that).
So that's your defense.
Quote:She responded by saying that it is hot for the locals too, but they don't go around with shorts, a pink t-shirt, backpack, and a baseball hat.
Yes, but the locals have jobs to go to and you don't, not in BA. That makes a big difference.
BTW in your travlogue about Argentina you made a big deal about beef. Argentine beef is first rate and much valued the world over. It's one of the country's exports, too. I've had some, here and there,a nd it is good. But all other thigns being euqal, I like Chilean beef better.
As this is the SWD thread, though, I must make a correction:
"Carne" means "meat" or "flesh." In mexico, and as I've now learned in Argentina, it's used for beef. thing is in Spanish tehre are no specific words for the meat of a given animal. Beef formally would be "carne de res," pork is "carne de cerdo," and so on. About the only exceptions is veal, which in Spanish is "ternera."
Quote: Nareed1) It takes a brave man to wear pink.
2) You were dressed just like that in Vegas the day we met (minus the ball cap; you should really lose that).
So that's your defense.
For one thing, I thought my shirt was a light shade of red, not pink. The pictures make it somehow look more rosada. I suppose I could have worn long pants to blend in better but I would have really suffered. Nah, call me a Yankee and a Gringo, I can take it, but I want to be cómodo.
Quote: Nareed"Carne" means "meat" or "flesh." In mexico, and as I've now learned in Argentina, it's used for beef. thing is in Spanish tehre are no specific words for the meat of a given animal. Beef formally would be "carne de res," pork is "carne de cerdo," and so on. About the only exceptions is veal, which in Spanish is "ternera."
I did not know that, thanks. You can tell by context I thought carne specifically was the meat from a vaca. I'll change that. However, in my defense again, I think the way is typically used here it means beef. For example, carne asada is always roasted beef.
Let's see a new picture from Mexico City.
This is the Monumento a la Revolución. You can see I'm holding a churro. I love churros and they just don't make them properly in the US. Besides the tasty snack, the Spanish dictionary also says churro means a mess, as in a task that got botched up. Any comment?
Quote: WizardFor one thing, I thought my shirt was a light shade of red, not pink.
You're a hard man to compliment, too :)
Quote:I did not know that, thanks. You can tell by context I thought carne specifically was the meat from a vaca. I'll change that. However, in my defense again, I think the way is typically used here it means beef. For example, carne asada is always roasted beef.
Sure. 11 times out of ten, when a Mexican says "carne" he means "beef." But the word means "meat" and "flesh" just the same. This leads to missunderstandings like being offered chicken or fish when you say "No se me antoja nada de carne ahorita."
Quote:This is the Monumento a la Revolución.
Once upon a time it was possible for the general public to go inside it. I never got to go. I've heard they keep the pickled hand of Álvaro Obregón inside. Talk about creepy...
Quote:You can see I'm holding a churro. I love churros and they just don't make them properly in the US. Besides the tasty snack, the Spanish dictionary also says churro means a mess, as in a task that got botched up. Any comment?
Bad movies are often called "churros" down here. But mostly the word is used for the pastry.
You got around well enough in such a short time. I may need to revise my estimates of walking distances.
Quote: NareedOnce upon a time it was possible for the general public to go inside it. I never got to go. I've heard they keep the pickled hand of Álvaro Obregón inside. Talk about creepy...
Oooo. If you want to go to a real creepy museum, try the National Museum of Health and Medicine. I see from their web site they are in the process of moving to Silver Spring MD. At the time I went to their location in a remote part of Washington DC they had lots of body organs in jars, as well as lots of miscarried fetuses with birth defects. I specifically remember a cyclops among them. Until that moment I thought that was more of a science fiction kind of thing. They also had the stuff Lincoln had in his pockets at the time he was killed.
That Monumento clearly had a nice glass elevator going to the top. You can barely make it out in my picture. It would be a shame if nobody was allowed to ride in it.
Quote: WizardOooo. If you want to go to a real creepy museum, try the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
At such a place you'd expect things like that. It's creepy, yes, but not unexpectedly so. Like the Bodies exhibit that's been touring the world. A co-worker really wanted to see it, until she found out those were real dead human bodies (I've never seen it, either).
A body part of someone famous kept as a relic is creepier in my estimation. What tops it all is the fad of making synthetic gemstones from the ashes of deceased people.
Quote:That Monumento clearly had a nice glass elevator going to the top. You can barely make it out in my picture. It would be a shame if nobody was allowed to ride in it.
Last time I was there I must have been 14 or so. There was no elevator yet, but there were stairs. You coulnd't get inside at the time. Maybe things have changed.
Quote: NareedThough the horse loks normal-sized, and the statue isn't exactly small. I don't see why the diminutive got used.
Dr. Susan Deans-Smith, an expert on the statue says that the nickname for the Charles IV equestrian statue started to appear in descriptions of the statue in the 19th century. There are various versions of why and how this came about. One interpretation was that in response to suggestions that after Mexican independence the statue which came to symbolize Spanish colonial (read oppressive) rule should be destroyed, there was an outcry to save the statue to preserve the horse.
It is at this point where we begin to see use of the affectionate term "el caballito."
Quote: pacomartinIt is at this point where we begin to see use of the affectionate term "el caballito."
So the overuse of diminutives goes back that far? I don't know whether to be surprised or not...
Cuenta corriente
Cuenta ahorrar
I can see now that ahorrar means "to save." However, at the time I didn't know that, and all I could think of was ahora=now. So, I figured my choices were a running account or a now account. I took an educated guess as the running account being checking (because your money runs in and out more).
So, my question is why do they use the word for run to describe a checking account?
Quote: WizardCuenta corriente
So, my question is why do they use the word for run to describe a checking account?
The word "corriente" means "current". Spanish uses the word "current" to mean "run".
The English adjective current is 700 years old and means "running, flowing," from Old French corant "running, lively, eager, swift," from Latin currere "to run, move quickly" (of persons or things).
The alternative English meaning of current as "prevalent, generally accepted" is from 1560s.
Applied 1747 to the flow of electrical force.
The word run as you may have guessed comes from an Anglo Saxon word.
In Mexico you will see comida corrida which is a small meal of several courses at a fixed price eaten between about 1 and 4 p.m.
In other countries it is called a comida corriente.
In any case it is a meal for "right now", a quick simple inexpensive meal that the house has pre-made in quantity for quick service.
Quote: WizardSorry to change the topic but I just came from the ATM that somebody left in Spanish. I couldn't immediately see how to change the language so decided to try to get through it en Español. The only step where I wasn't sure what to put was the one where it asks if you want the money taken from. The two choices I wasn't of were:
Cuenta corriente
Cuenta ahorrar
One thing I've noticed in multi-language items, signage, machines, etc, just about anywhere in the world, is that foreign languages tend to get badly mangled. For example, an IHOP in Orlando had on the menu "Filete de pescado fruto," that means "Fruit fish fillet." Offhand I can't recall any others exactly, but once I looked through the English isntructions in a pay phone and coulnd't make heads or tails of it.
So overall avoid translations.
Quote:I can see now that ahorrar means "to save." However, at the time I didn't know that, and all I could think of was ahora=now. So, I figured my choices were a running account or a now account. I took an educated guess as the running account being checking (because your money runs in and out more).
So, my question is why do they use the word for run to describe a checking account?
"Cuenta corriente" is a term used in accounting, but I can't recall what it means. Msotly it involves alrge movers of money, like governments or corporations.
Anyway, "checking account" in Spanish is "Cuenta de cheques." Simple, isn't it?
The specifics aren't. In Mexico checking accounts do pay interest, and that's a reason almost no one uses savings accounts any more. of course they pay next to nothing, but so did savings accounts. Some abnks offere a service called "cuenta maestra" which includes a checkbook, a debit card and a credit card. the latter is automatically paid by the balance of your checking account. But of course there are "cuentas maestras" without credit cards, whch means theya re identical to checking accounts with a debit card (meaning all checking accounts from 1990 on), but which charge larger comissions <sigh>.
BTW on my last trip to Vegas I did notice the Spanish signs on the bus were rather well-translated. An oversight, no doubt :P
Quote: pacomartin
I took the metro again today. No ill efects at all. I wasn't even stepped on :P
Nothign new to add, really, but I left the map up if you want to trace my route:
Cab from the office to Rio San Joaquin station on the orange line (7)
Metro from there to Tacubaya station to transfer to the pink line (1)
Staright on to Isabel La Católica station (Is this what a secular government should name metro stations??? j/k)
Walk one block and a half to my destination.
On the way back I got off at the Polanco station in the orange line, because it's easier to find cabs there.
Not counting time lost waiting for an empty cab to show up in Polanco, about 90 minutes round trip. That's about the same as the usual trip time by car in light traffic conditions. I used the subway this time because Eje Central was reported blocked, meaning traffic would have been really bad or simply not moving at all.
Total cost 76 pesos. 40 for the outgoing cab, 30 for the other cab, 6 for two subway tickets. In US $ about $5.70
Take Math (please!) for example. I know an equation is called "ecuación" in Spanish. But there's a Spanish term for expressions like X+2>4, we call them "desigualdades" or "inecuaciones." What are they called in English?
Just a silly question to while away ten minutes... :)
Quote: NareedWhat are they called in English?
Inequalities. There may be a further term to designate an inequality that is strictly > or < and not just ≠. (By the way, does that last symbol show up as a proper "not equal" symbol for everyone? I'm never sure which characters really work on all systems.)
Speaking of the word cheque, does anyone every use that word for a check in a restaurant, what I thought was supposed to be cuenta? I believe there was an episode of Get Smart when a bomb was supposed to go off in a restaurant when Max said "The check, please." However, what the villain didn't anticipate was that it was a Mexican restaurant and Max said "El cheque por favor."
About the <, >, and equal sign with the line through it, I have never heard of specific words for the three symbols. In school they were all called the inequality symbols. Now that you make me think about it, the < and > were also referred to as an "alligator mouth," which opened up towards the bigger number, because the alligator was hungry. Doc, your equal sign with the line through it looked correct to me. I don't want to bother searching on how to make it.
The word desigualdad="Cualidad de desigual", or the quality of being "uneven". In Spanish the word is applied to mathematical statements, but in English was tend to use "uneven" strictly for terrain or wood. Technically the words "inequal" and "uneven" are synonyms, but it is custom in English to only use inequal for mathematics.Quote: DocInequalities. There may be a further term to designate an inequality that is strictly > or < and not just ≠. (By the way, does that last symbol show up as a proper "not equal" symbol for everyone? I'm never sure which characters really work on all systems.)
La desigualdad de Cauchy-Schwarz, would be called the "Cauchy -Schwarz inequality".
Now the word gradient (sp. gradiente ) is used for physical grades as in the steepness of the road, and it is also used in mathematics to measure the spatial direction of the increase/decrease of a metric. It seems to be the same in Spanish.
Quote: WizardDoc, your equal sign with the line through it looked correct to me. I don't want to bother searching on how to make it.
Thanks for the feed back on the ≠. I don't want to annoy Nareed, so don't tell her I said this, but I'm using a Mac, and that symbol is simply "option =". Perhaps that's not "intuitive", but once you've seen it, you likely can remember it without needing to remember some three-digit ASCII code or something in order to type it. I sometimes forget which of the control/option/command keys make which alterations of a character, but there really aren't so many variants as to prohibit trial-and-error when I forget.
Quote: WizardAbout the <, >, and equal sign with the line through it, I have never heard of specific words for the three symbols. In school they were all called the inequality symbols. Now that you make me think about it, the < and > were also referred to as an "alligator mouth," which opened up towards the bigger number, because the alligator was hungry. Doc, your equal sign with the line through it looked correct to me. I don't want to bother searching on how to make it.
I always called them "greater than", "less than", "not equal", and "much greater/less than", or "an order of magnitude bigger/smaller". Regardless of the symbol used, all expressions with these symbols are generically called inequalities.
Quote: WizardAre the cuentas maestras supposed to teach the owner something? Otherwise, why call them that?
Speaking of the word c, does anyone every use that word for a check in a restaurant, what I thought was supposed to be cuenta? I believe there was an episode of Get Smart when a bomb was supposed to go off in a restaurant when Max said "The check, please." However, what the villain didn't anticipate was that it was a Mexican restaurant and Max said "El cheque por favor."
The word maestras means "teacher", but it also means "master".
According to DRAE cuenta means "Pliego o papel en que está escrita alguna razón compuesta de varias partidas, que al fin se suman o restan."
So the more literal translation is a sheet of paper with an "accounting" of the items.
DRAE also says "cheque" in Spanish is taken from the English word. I have always said "La cuenta, por favor".
The English word check which means "a check against forgery or alteration," which gave the modern financial use of "bank check, money draft" (first recorded 1798 and often spelled cheque), probably influenced by exchequeur.
The Exchequer is a government department of the United Kingdom responsible for the management and collection of taxation and other government revenues. The historical Exchequer developed judicial roles. It was named after the chequer-patterned table used in the medieval period for financial calculations.
Okay, I won't introduce this photo. Let's see if you guys can tell me where and what it is.
Quote: WizardOkay, I won't introduce this photo. Let's see if you guys can tell me where and what it is.
Assuming it's from Mex City, and given where I know you were, I can make a pretty good guess.
I'll let someone else have a go first.
Quote: WizardSpeaking of the word cheque, does anyone every use that word for a check in a restaurant, what I thought was supposed to be cuenta?
No one says "el cheque, por favor," in a restaurant. Try it. The waiter will look at you as though you've lost your mind. It's "la cuenta, por favor."
Quote: NareedAssuming it's from Mex City, and given where I know you were, I can make a pretty good guess.
I'll let someone else have a go first.
I don't recognize it. Since it looks like it has to do with money, I would guess Bolsa Mexicana de Valores which is only about a mile from El Caballito, but it doesn't look like the correct building.
Quote: pacomartinI don't recognize it. Since it looks like it has to do with money, I would guess Bolsa Mexicana de Valores which is only about a mile from El Caballito, but it doesn't look like the correct building.
I'm waiting for the Wizard to confirm, or refute, it is Mexico City. If it is, you're wrong. Think much closer to el caballito.
Quote: NareedI'm waiting for the Wizard to confirm, or refute, it is Mexico City.
I can confirm it is in Mexico City.
Quote: WizardThanks Paco. Okay, I won't introduce this photo. Let's see if you guys can tell me where and what it is.
OK, this is my final guess.
So if you walk from the Zocalo, past the Belles Artes building and the El Hemiciclo a Juárez on Calle Juárez ,cross Paseo del Reforma at Lotería Nacional on your way to the Museo de la Revolución, on your return trip you would pass the El Caballito.
By then you would be getting worried and take a taxi back to the airport.
Quote: pacomartinOK, this is my final guess.
That would have been my guess. The Loteria building is near el caballlito and the statue is holding the "cuerno de la abundancia," a symbol of riches and good fortune. Literally that means "the horn of plenty," should that make any sense.
Quote: NareedLiterally that means "the horn of plenty," should that make any sense.
Actually that is the exact phrase that is used in English. "Horn of plenty" is a literal translation of Latin cornu copiae , or cornucopia in English.
It's usually pictured with fruit
That thing she is holding I always thought that was called a cornucopia. Any other English or Spanish words with the root cornu in them?
Quote: WizardThat thing she is holding I always that was called a cornucopia. Any other English or Spanish words with the root cornu in them?
Croissant :)
BTW given the area you were in, that was the only possible placement for that statue. But the piece of building behind it also looked familiar.
