Now Words and Their
Stories from VOA Learning English.
In an
earlier program, we
talked a lot about
the Devil. In many
religions, the Devil is the most
powerful spirit of
evil. Religious leaders
teach that hell is
where the Devil lives.
They also say
hell is the place
where bad people go
after they die.
earlier: anterior;
Devil: diablo, demonio; most powerful: más poderoso; evil:
(el) mal; religious leaders: los líderes religiosos; hell:
infierno;
You can hear
many Americans
using the words “Devil” and
“hell” in everyday
expressions. But the list of
expressions is just too
long for one show.
So, get ready
for the sequel -- what we’re
calling “Part 2:
Hell, the Devil’s Hangout!”
just
too long: demasiado extensa; sequel: segunda parte; hangout:
guarida;
Many people think
of hell as a hot
place full of fire.
So, a snowball
would not have much of a
chance there. And that is
where this expression
comes from:
a snowball’s chance in
hell.
think of
hell as: piensan que el infierno es; full of fire: repleto de fuego;
snowball: bola de nieve; would not have: no tendría; much of a
chance: demasiadas chances, probabilidades de subsistencia; a snowball's chance in hell: tener muy pocas probabilidades de que algo salga bien, no tener la menor
probabilidad de;
Let’s
say you applied
for a promotion at work. But
so did your
boss’s daughter. You
do not have a
snowball’s
chance in hell.
Your boss is not
going to hire you
over his daughter.
let's say:
supongamos que; you applied for: te aplicaste/postulaste para; but so
did: lo mismo hizo; your boss's daughter: la hija de tu jefe; to
hire you over his daughter: contratarte a ti dejando de lado a su hija;
It will
be
a cold day in hell
and
when hell freezes over
also mean
the same thing:
there is no chance that something
will happen.
it will be a
cold day in hell: (antes que suceda X situación) se congelará el infierno; when hell freezes over:
para las calendas griegas,
cuando las ranas críen pelos (algo que jamás va a ocurrir);
For
example, if you
have a fight with
a friend and never
want to talk to him
again, you could
say, “It
will be a cold day in hell
before I ever call
him again. Our
friendship is over!” Or “Sure,
I’ll call him …
when hell freezes over!”
fight:
pelea; our friendship is over: nuestra amistad se acabó; sure, I'll
call him: claro que lo llamaré (¡cuando se congele el infierno!);
But be
careful. These
expressions are very informal
and very strong.
You would only
use them with
your close friends
and peers.
be
careful: ten cuidado; very strong: muy fuertes, groseras; close
friends and peers: amistades íntimas y colegas;
So if your
boss asks if
your work will be
done before you go
home, you would
never say, “It’ll
be a cold day in hell
when that happens...”
unless you want
to lose your job.
will
be done: quedará terminado; it will be a cold day in hell: se
congelará el infierno; unless: a menos que; to lose: perder;
Sometime, we just
use the expression “hell”
like this: She’s
a
hell of a
dancer. He’s a hell of a
writer. That was a hell of
good time. “Hell
of a” runs together as
if it’s one word
– hell-of-a. Again, this is
very slang and
very informal.
sometime: en alguna ocasión; hell of a:
infernal (positivo), maravilla de, notable, especial, extraordinario (jerga
o argot); runs together as if it's one word: se dice todo de corrido como
si fuese una sola palabra; very slang: lenguaje muy callejero;
Hell is reported to be not
only hot, but
miserable.
hell
is reported to be: se dice que el infierno es; not only hot: no sólo
caliente; but miserable: sino también desgraciado;
So, if something
is
going to
hell in a hand
basket, It is
becoming very bad
very quickly.
is
going to hell in a hand basket: va en camino directo al infierno;
becoming very bad very quickly: poniéndose feo (o peligroso) muy velozmente;
If you have
been to hell and back,
you
have been through a
very difficult
period and lived to tell
about it. Here is an example:
be to hell and back:
ir y volver del infierno, pasar por el infierno, pasar por muchas dificultades,
pasarlas negras, pasar las de Caín; you have been through: tú has pasado
(atravesado); and lived to tell about it: y sobreviviste para contarlo;
A: I’m
glad to see that
Julie is back to her
old self.
B:
Me, too. She’s been
through so much
this past month.
Her mom died,
her son got
really sick and
then she was in that terrible car
accident.
A:
Wow, she has really
been to hell and
back.
is back
to her old self: volvió a ser la que era; me, too: yo también; so
much: tantos problemas (en este contexto); she has really been to hell
and back: realmente ha pasado las de Caín (las ha pasado negras, etc.);
But
if you do
want to visit hell,
there is a road
you can take: the
road of good
intentions.
if you
do want: si realmente deseas (uso enfático del auxiliar DO)
Lee "Uso del énfasis" en
nuestro curso de redacción
http://tinyurl.com/zxwydd8
Let me explain.
When we say “The
road to hell is
paved with good
intentions,”
we mean that positive
intentions may
have negative outcomes. “Paved”
here means to line
a street. So, the
road to hell is lined
with well-intended
ideas that went terribly
wrong.
the road to hell is paved with good intentions:
el camino al infierno está
lleno (pavimentado) de buenas intenciones (es decir, las buenas intenciones no bastan, lo que
marca tu destino no son las intenciones sino los hechos); negative outcomes:
resultados negativos o poco favorables; to pave = to line a street:
pavimentar una calle; well-intended ideas: ideas bienintencionadas;
that went terribly wrong: que salieron (resultaron) muy mal;
You do not have
to have good
intentions to be
hell on wheels.
People who
are hell on wheels
are
aggressive, tough,
mean or just difficult to
deal with. For
example, “Watch out for the new
woman in sales. She’s
good. But she is
hell on wheels!
Stay out of her
way!”
hell-on-wheels:
persona de mal genio, fastidiosa y malhumorada, novato sobre
ruedas; aggressive: agresivas; tough: inflexibles; mean:
perversas; difficult to deal with: difíciles para relacionarse con ellas;
watch out for: cuídate de, ten cuidado con; in sales: a cargo de las
ventas; stay out of her way: aléjate de ella;
Being
hell on wheels
is different than
raising hell. People
who are hell on
wheels might actually be
doing a good job.
But if you are
raising hell, you
are simply behaving
badly. Let’s listen to this
dialogue.
raising hell:
persona violenta y alborotadora, que arma líos de mil demonios; behaving
badly: comportándose muy mal;
B: When
she was a teenager, she really
raised hell.
A: Tell
me about it. She
skipped school, got
into trouble every
weekend … what a
hell raiser!
B: Her
poor parents!
raised hell:
armaba grandes revuelos; tell me about it: lo sé perfectamente;
skipped school: faltaba a la escuela (no iba a clases); what a hell
raiser!: ¡qué alborotadora (era)!; her poor parents!: ¡pobrecitos sus
padres!;
If you raised
too much hell
in one place, you
might find you
need to leave that
place like
a bat out of hell
– in other words –
crazy-fast!
I’m
Anna Matteo.
raised
too much hell: se armó un gran revuelo o escándalo; you might find you
need to leave that place: es probable que necesites huir de ese lugar; like a bat out of hell:
como alma que se la lleva el diablo, a toda velocidad; in other words:
es decir; crazy-fast: disparando como un loco. |