Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
las cosas de palacio van despacio
English translation:
it all takes time, the mills of God grind slowly / wheels of justice grind ever so slowly
Added to glossary by
Margarita Ezquerra (Smart Translators, S.L.)
Feb 25, 2008 17:12
16 yrs ago
4 viewers *
Spanish term
las cosas de palacio van despacio
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
idioms
I had a query from a British client today, whose Spanish lawyer told him to be patient regarding a matter he's negotiating on his behalf with a Spanish Town Hall, using the idiom, well-known in Spain: "las cosas de palacio van despacio". I explained the meaning to him but would like to know if there's a similar idiom in English. Thanks in advance for your help.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Mar 1, 2008 11:00: María T. Vargas Created KOG entry
Mar 1, 2008 11:32: Margarita Ezquerra (Smart Translators, S.L.) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/656">María T. Vargas's</a> old entry - "las cosas de palacio van despacio"" to ""it all takes time, the mills of God grind slowly / wheels of justice grind ever so slowly""
Proposed translations
+4
11 mins
Margarita Ezquerra (Smart Translators, S.L.)
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
Spain
Margarita Ezquerra (Smart Translators, S.L.)
Accredited translators 20 yrs experience
Native in: Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, French to Spanish
Related KudoZ points
:
84
Selected
it all takes time, the mills of God grind slowly / wheels of justice grind ever so slowly
Aquí tienes varias opciones. Saludos
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Bubo Coroman (X)
: hemos coincidido ... great minds ...!
6 mins
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¡Qué riquina! Muchas gracias Deborah
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| agree |
Noni Gilbert Riley
: Yes, the wheels of justice/bureacracy.
7 mins
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Mil gracias aceavila!
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| agree |
Egmont
2 hrs
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Gracias AVRVM
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| agree |
MikeGarcia
1 day 17 hrs
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Hooooolllllaaaaa querido!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Gracias, Marga, lo hiciste un "fisquito" antes que Deborah, por eso te llevas los puntos. Como las dos sois excepcionales, me ponéis en apuros, ja, ja. Y gracias a todos por su colaboración. Cariños. Pampi "
+1
8 mins
Sonia Clough
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
United Kingdom
Native English-speaker PL-EN translator
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English, Polish to English, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Paraphrase (see below)
I don't think we have an equivalent for this in English. I would paraphrase it and say something like, "Bureaucracy takes time".
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Kathryn Litherland
: the "mills of god" allusion implies that justice is always meted out in the end/crime doesn't pay. the title of the original is "retribution"!
1 hr
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Thank you :)
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+3
14 mins
"they're like the Mills of God" (referring to the Council)
it's one of my mother's favorite expressions (she was a Civil Servant)
THOUGH the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
THOUGH the mills of God grind slowly,
Yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience he stands waiting,
With exactness grinds he all.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Noni Gilbert Riley
: Perhaps we shd clarify that the council is the local council = ayuntamiento/diputación!
3 mins
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right, Noni! Thanks :-) Deborah
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| agree |
psicutrinius
: A mistery for me: Why are they called civil SERVANTS?. Aren't We Theirs?...
29 mins
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no, we're not their servants, we just pay their wages, and their pensions, and their holiday pay, and their sick pay ... Thanks and hugs :-) Deborah
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| agree |
MikeGarcia
1 day 17 hrs
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muchísimas gracias Maestro, que tengas un día fenomenal :-) Deborah
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+2
22 mins
Rome wasn't built in a day
Not an exact however this idiom might correctly convey the source's meaning.... suerte :)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
liz askew
11 mins
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mil gracias, liz
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| agree |
Christian [email protected]
7 hrs
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muchas gracias, Christian
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+2
2 hrs
Nelida Kreer
Native in Spanish
English/Spanish/Eng Certified Translator
Native in: Spanish (Variants: Argentine, Latin American, Uruguayan)
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Spanish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
19
slow and steady wins the race
Este modismo alude a la famosa fábula de Esopo y la carrera entre la liebre y la tortuga, y podría ajustarse por el significado de que hay que tener paciencia.
Es otra posibilidad.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Christian [email protected]
5 hrs
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Muchas gracias Christian!!! Saludos.
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| agree |
MikeGarcia
1 day 14 hrs
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Popito agradece la preferencia!!! Un guau muy especial.
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5 hrs
Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
poetically precise prose with... panache
Native in: English
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
315
the wheels of bureaucracy grind soooo slowly
The wheels of bureaucracy are not only exceedingly slow, but also convoluted and cumbersome!
______
The wheels of bureaucracy grind sooooo slowly.... [travelblips ... A while back I blogged about the time, problems and cost it can take to collect letters from various countries on your criminal history if applying to ...
travelblips.blog-city.com/the_wheels_of_bureaucracy_grind_sooooo_slowly.htm - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
Role of Elites and Citizens in Rural Development of India - Google Books Resultby Sharada Rath, S. C. Jena, R. K. Sahoo - 1993 - Political Science - 193 pages
... that panchayats were brought in due to the failure of the Community Development Programme in the 1960s to take off fully on the wheels of bureaucracy. ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=8185880182...
Appalled by crass parking policy: Express & Star I have applied to renew my pass but now have to wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn for its return. In the meantime, I am, in effect, left housebound ...
______
The wheels of bureaucracy grind sooooo slowly.... [travelblips ... A while back I blogged about the time, problems and cost it can take to collect letters from various countries on your criminal history if applying to ...
travelblips.blog-city.com/the_wheels_of_bureaucracy_grind_sooooo_slowly.htm - 33k - Cached - Similar pages
Role of Elites and Citizens in Rural Development of India - Google Books Resultby Sharada Rath, S. C. Jena, R. K. Sahoo - 1993 - Political Science - 193 pages
... that panchayats were brought in due to the failure of the Community Development Programme in the 1960s to take off fully on the wheels of bureaucracy. ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=8185880182...
Appalled by crass parking policy: Express & Star I have applied to renew my pass but now have to wait for the wheels of bureaucracy to turn for its return. In the meantime, I am, in effect, left housebound ...
1 day 15 hrs
Andrew Vdovin
Specializes in field
DELVING into DETAIL
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian, Russian to English, and 2 more.
an oak is not felled with one stroke
It's a proverb...
An oak is not felled with one stroke. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Hope can borrow from poor day, from rich tomorrow. It’s a cold coal to blow at. ...
langyou.ru/book5.php
An oak is not felled with one stroke. A rolling stone gathers no moss. Hope can borrow from poor day, from rich tomorrow. It’s a cold coal to blow at. ...
langyou.ru/book5.php
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