Me encargaron perder un gato
- Thread starter Doggert
- Start date
Hello Doggert amd welcome.
Please tell us where you have read or heard this phrase, and as Mr.Dent has said, explain the situation.
Please tell us where you have read or heard this phrase, and as Mr.Dent has said, explain the situation.
The protagonist in the novel is a trucker, and he has been asked by a shady administrator to pick up a girl, take her to a city and then let some men spirit her away. He was also told not to follow her. So, I am thinking "get rid of" rather than "lose" a cat, because "lose a cat" does not sound as native to me. I was even thinking about translating the phrase as, "make a cat disappear." The girl is the cat because later on the protagonist writes that he is having dinner with her and he refers to her as the "gata a perder."
Thank you for your responses and your help.
Thank you for your responses and your help.
Hi,
In Chile there is not an equivalent expression. In this case we would say hacerla desaparecer.
In Chile there is not an equivalent expression. In this case we would say hacerla desaparecer.
Yes, I would changing the Spanish quite a bit with "make the cat disappear". I have decided to write, "take away" which fits the context: "They put me in charge of taking away a cat." In this way I can now write "gata a perder" as the "take-away cat." Thank you gvergara.
We would need more context to understand it because being a girl, it should say una gata as it seems that it's said later:And we would need more context to understand the proper meaning of gata among the several one available...
I'm glad you are satisfied, but you should provide a few lines of the Spanish text for context. Native speakers in this thread have said that it sounds odd, so it's on you to provide sufficient context so they (we) can understand what the original means. That will get you much better replies, now and in the future.
Yes, please, a bit of context, where you found the expression, etc.
Also, you first wrote gato and later on gata. That might make a difference. For example, in Argentina, the term gato can mean a woman who's an expensive prostitute, one who goes out with powerful or wealthy men. And it's used like that, in the masculine form even though it applies to a woman: la mina esa es un gato.
So, some clarification wouldn't be amiss.
Also, you first wrote gato and later on gata. That might make a difference. For example, in Argentina, the term gato can mean a woman who's an expensive prostitute, one who goes out with powerful or wealthy men. And it's used like that, in the masculine form even though it applies to a woman: la mina esa es un gato.
So, some clarification wouldn't be amiss.
Aparentemente, el autor del libro es Uriel Quesada, de nacionalidad costarricense, por lo que tal vez en Costa Rica entiendan la expresión.
En mi zona "desaparecer/deshacerse de un gato" se diría "hacer perdedizo un gato", pero no es el caso ni el autor es mexicano.
Saludos.
En mi zona "desaparecer/deshacerse de un gato" se diría "hacer perdedizo un gato", pero no es el caso ni el autor es mexicano.
Saludos.