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tirantillos
atraco petrolero de Wall Street y las grandes petroleras

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

tiene huevos

English translation:

Unbelievable!

Added to glossary by Ion Zubizarreta
Dec 1, 2013 12:11
10 yrs ago
3 viewers *
Spanish term

tiene huevos

Spanish to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
The interviewer explains what happened after having an accident and being picked up by an ambulance.
Thanks!

"Nos cogió una ambulancia y para Zaragoza. ¡Pero tiene huevos! La ambulancia por el camino se quedó sin batería, tuvo que venir otra a remolcarla, fue un infierno.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +9 Unbelievable!
3 +5 What a cock-up/balls-up/screw-up/disaster
4 +2 What a nightmare!
4 But it had a mind of its own!
4 wait for this / you're not going to believe this

Discussion

Estela Quintero-Weldon Dec 2, 2013:
Another meaning - Tiene huevos Hi,
I know it in singular "tiene huevo" in Colombia - 'fell short of' or 'it did not measure up' or 'it lacks stature or whatever'
It means something like that, as others have expressed it.
Neil Ashby Dec 1, 2013:
Hi Henry In Spain it is used for a variety of situations, as Charles mentions, for example, "cheeky S.O.B.", "he's got a lot of b....", brash, rude, etc...it has lots of uses. There are probably plenty that coincide with Mexico, depending on the context.
Henry Hinds Dec 1, 2013:
Interesting This illustrates why CONTEXT (origin and destination) are extremely important to know, because in Mexico the meaning would be totally different.

Proposed translations

+9
1 hr
Selected

Unbelievable!

Comes to my mind when I act out the situation in English.
Note from asker:
Thank you all! I think "Would you believe it?" (and "Unbelievable!") sound great here.
Peer comment(s):
agree peter jackson : Or "Would you believe it?"
7 mins
Thanks Peter, works well too.
agree Phoenix III
22 mins
Thanks Phoenix
agree Catarina Lopes
1 hr
Gracias Ana,
agree Pablo Julián Davis : This sounds right too... as does Peter's variant.
2 hrs
Gracias Pablo, I like your 'brass ones' comment ;@)
agree teju : I like Peter's twist on your answer.
3 hrs
Thanks Teju, yes Peter's twist probably fits better in a dialogue/interview.
agree Charles Davis : Yes, yours or Peter's variant are the kind of thing you would say. I wouldn't even rule out "unbe-fucking-lievable" ;) // Each to his own. Both forms are in wiktionary (which is pretty unbelievable in itself).
3 hrs
Thanks Charles, personally I'd say "un-f'''ing-believable", but that's just splitting syllables. ;@)
agree Yvonne Gallagher
4 hrs
Thanks Gallagy, the question's drawing a lot of attention!
agree Salloz
5 hrs
Thanks Salloz
agree Kirk Garrett Smith
322 days
Thanks Kirk.... ;@)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+2
9 mins

What a nightmare!

"La cosa tiene huevos" (or "narices" in the more polite version) is one of those common colloquial expressions in Spain that has to be translated freely according to the context. It suggests more or less that something was outrageous or remarkably trying, or something of that kind.

In context, I think someone would probably have said in English that it was a nightmare: "What a nightmare!"; "It was a real/total/absolute nightmare".
Peer comment(s):
agree Jenni Lukac (X) : I agree. This kind of thing could happen in Aragon . . .
15 mins
Not just in Aragon, to be fair... Thanks, Jenni!
agree Pablo Julián Davis : Jaja, lo primero en lo que pienso al empezar a leer, es q'se va a elogiar al chofer de la ambulancia por su valentía, porque tuvo q'conducir por una zona de desastre natural o algo así-- onda "That guy had brass ones!" (EEUU). Hay huevos y huevos...
2 hrs
Gracias, tocayo! Me gusta lo de "brass ones" :)
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+5
26 mins

What a cock-up/balls-up/screw-up/disaster

The first three expressions are colloquial, as in the ST, although the implication is that someone made a mistake - but having said that, I think running out of battery could be put down to human error!

And I'm trying to avoid anything here that is even mildly synonymous with "it was hell" at the end of the sentence. It could be argued that "disaster" might come into that category... but this is only offered as a possible option to be chewed over
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : Good ideas. / And actually "it was a nightmare" would be good for "fue un infierno" (more idiomatic than "it was hell", I think). So one of yours for "tiene huevos" would be good. "Cock-up" is best.
2 mins
thanks Charles :)
agree Helena Chavarria : I think 'what a cock-up' works the best. And modern batteries go flat as soon as their time's up. It happened to me on Wednesday evening: after driving around the whole day when I went to start the car, there wasn't a spark of life left in the battery!
3 hrs
Thanks Helena! And, oh dear... what a pain, it can't have been charging up properly!
agree franglish : With Charles and Helena// 'cock up' reflects the way this guy expresses himself; fiasco would be too stilted. Have a sunny day!
3 hrs
thanks franglish! And I wonder if "fiasco" might work, although it might sound a little tame perhaps// Good point, franglish!
agree Yvonne Gallagher : also like "what a cock-up"
4 hrs
thanks gallagy2 :)
agree Christine Walsh : I think 'cock-up' just fits the bill.
12 hrs
Thanks Christine:))
Something went wrong...
1 hr
Spanish term (edited): ¡Pero tiene huevos!

But it had a mind of its own!

This is my understanding here. This expression in English is often used for machines when they don't do what they're supposed to do (see definition via link below). I get the impression from the Spanish that the person saying this is being sarcastic with "tiene huevos", as in, the ambulance was (literally) really "ballsy" or "gutsy" (to mean "helpful"), but actually meant the opposite.
Example sentence:

Nos cogió una ambulancia y para Zaragoza. ¡Pero tiene huevos! La ambulancia por el camino se quedó sin batería, tuvo que venir otra a remolcarla, fue un infierno.

We took an ambulance to Zaragoza. But it had a mind of its own! The ambulance ran out of battery on the way, and another one had to come to tow it away, it was pure hell/a nightmare/etc.

Reference:

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/have-a-mind-of-its-own

Something went wrong...
6 hrs

wait for this / you're not going to believe this

Not a matter of whether this is the right translation of "tiene huevos", but of what fits, and I think either of these would be fine.

I notice that the second is v close to a suggestion by Peter, above.
Something went wrong...
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