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salto de rengión
Oct 19, 2015 08:19
9 yrs ago
Spanish term

le dio el telele

Spanish to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Conversational idiom. Peninsular Spanish
Phrase: "No penséis mal. No había bebido que está a régimen. (Quizas por no beber le dio el telele".

My cursory take: "Don't think the worst/don't think badly of me. I had nothing to drink thanks to the diet.
Maybe my temperance/non-drinking gave them a bit of a turn.

There must be a better way to say this, at least I hope so...

I've found definitions translating the term into English as a "turn" = a fit, a queer turn

This is an account of a meal attended by the writer.

Anyone familiar with this term? I take it it's humorous in intent? Is it at all common - street-talk?

Many thanks for any assistance
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 it gave him a queer turn
4 +1 he/she went a bit wobbly
4 +1 he was a bit out of sorts/wasn’t himself
3 +1 he had a dizzy spell
4 had a fit
4 "Don't get me wrong, he didn't drink, he's offf the wagon (maybe that's why he freaked out)"
3 Did I give you a scare?

Discussion

Muriel Vasconcellos (X) Oct 19, 2015:
First part I think the confusion is coming from an overly literal translation of the first phrase. I think it simply means 'Nothing's wrong.'
Muriel Vasconcellos (X) Oct 19, 2015:
My take Without more context, this is my reading of it:
"Nothing's wrong. I'm not drinking because I'm on a diet. Did I give you a scare/take you by surprise?"
franglish Oct 19, 2015:
So, as opposed to the good people of the company the guy hadn't been drinking because of his diet, and he ended up somewhat shaky.
Gordon Byron (asker) Oct 19, 2015:
3rd person-yes that's correct. Sorry. Weird thing is the sudden lurch into it, Here's the paragraph:

. Veníamos de una comida con la buena gente de la /company/. No. No penséis mal. No había bebido que está a régimen. (Quizas por no beber le dio el telele). Resumen: ampliamos amigos, en este caso –creo- buenos amigos.
Carol Gullidge Oct 19, 2015:
So, if it is meant to be humorous... perhaps NOT drinking had gone to his head
Carol Gullidge Oct 19, 2015:
so the intriguing question is: Why does Gordon assume this is in the first person?
Carol Gullidge Oct 19, 2015:
Charles I get your point about "está a régimen" - I hadn't spotted that. However, I wasn't implying that anybody would stop drinking because someone else was on a diet! Although, having said that, I have in fact done precisely that for a very weak-willed friend who would not have coped with me drinking when she wasn't allowed to. Out of solidarity, and to try to encourage her. So anything is possible!
Charles Davis Oct 19, 2015:
I mean, it would be very peculiar for one person to stop drinking because another person is on a diet. I suppose it could happen, as a gesture of moral support to a partner, for example, but if that were the meaning, again, the other person would be specified, because the default interpretation is that the subject of both verbs is the same.
Charles Davis Oct 19, 2015:
@Carol Regardless of context, I think "había bebido" must be in the third person because of "está a régimen", which must refer to the same person. It must mean he hadn't been drinking recently, he'd been off alcohol as part of his diet. So one drink and he's under the table.

Personally I think it's very unlikely that "le dio el telele" means falling through the floor with astonishment; it's not the expression you'd use for that. "Por no beber le dio el telele" almost certainly means that the "telele" happened to the person who didn't drink, otherwise the change of person would almost certainly have been signalled. To me it seems clear that the "telele" describes the effect of alcohol on someone who doesn't usually drink: it went to his head (a possible version here?).
neilmac Oct 19, 2015:
You're not alone! More context would indeed help choose a Goldilocks option. However, as it doesn't seem to be forthcoming, all we can do is offer our suggestions for the "telele" phrase. I can think of about half a dozen, each with its own little slant.
Carol Gullidge Oct 19, 2015:
alternative interpretation? More context needed! Am I the only one (apart from the Asker) who interprets this to mean that the "le" in "Quizas por no beber le dio el telele" is a third person who nearly fell through the floor with astonishment that the speaker wasn't drinking alcohol? To me, this has nothing to do with anybody feeling faint through dehydration (or alcohol withdrawal!), although I see that the latter is a possible interpretation, given just the text we have here. Presumably it's the Asker's knowledge of the context (please supply more!) that leads him to imply that "había bebido" is in the first person and not the third person. (???)
Charles Davis Oct 19, 2015:
telele The RAE definition is "patatús, soponcio". All great words. All of them mean "desmayo", with an element of "congoja". Doesn't mean the person literally fainted though, IMO.

Proposed translations

+3
14 mins
Selected

it gave him a queer turn

http://dictionary.reverso.net/spanish-english/telele

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Note added at 16 mins (2015-10-19 08:35:59 GMT)
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also,
why do you think this translates as

"don't think badly of me".

I thought it meant

Don't think badly of him. He didn't drink because he was on a diet.
Perhaps he had a queer turn because he didn't drink /didn't have a drink

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Note added at 19 mins (2015-10-19 08:38:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

actually, you might want to avoid "queer"...

and just have

Perhaps he had a funny turn


Mini-Strokes, Often Considered As 'A Funny Turn' Can Be ...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/.../mini-strokes-dangerous-if-dism...
1 May 2014 - Over a third who have suffered a TIA thought it was just a "funny turn" and 47% did not believe their symptoms could be a medical emergency, ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2015-10-19 08:39:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

so

final attempt

Perhaps he had a funny turn because he didn't have a drink/didn't drink

Peer comment(s):
agree neilmac
7 mins
agree philgoddard : One of many possibilities. Not "queer", though :-)
42 mins
agree franglish : or, felt faint
2 days 42 mins
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
15 mins

he had a dizzy spell

Suggestion
Example sentence:

Halfway down the stairs he had a dizzy spell.

“He had a dizzy spell and briefly fainted, crashing to the ground in the

Reference:

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/me-da-el-telele.2907587/

Peer comment(s):
agree neilmac
6 mins
Many thanks, neilmac!
Something went wrong...
+1
20 mins

he/she went a bit wobbly

Etc. As Liz notes, it's in the 3rd person so the speaker is talking about someone else. (perhaps not drinking gave him/her the DTs)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 mins (2015-10-19 08:40:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

DTs = delirium tremens
noun
a psychotic condition typical of withdrawal in chronic alcoholics, involving tremors, hallucinations, anxiety, and disorientation.
Peer comment(s):
agree Adoración Bodoque Martínez
11 hrs
Something went wrong...
31 mins

had a fit

Why not simply "he/she had a fit" ?

It's very colloquial but would make sense here, see examples below

http://www.spiritualriver.com/alcoholism/alcohol-withdrawal-...

If he has symptoms when not drinking then those are ... withdrawl and the cold turkey phase or 2-3 days after last drink – well Dad had a fit at home a few


my son (15) had a fit last night and the doctor...

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071205052302AAkluTPEn

My son (15) had a fit last night and the doctor asked if he had been drinking or taken drugs?



Peer comment(s):
neutral Carol Gullidge : Are you talking literally or metaphorically? Your examples would suggest the literal meaning, which I cannot agree with. However, if you reposted the answer with a humorous slant (i.e., not the sort of "fit" you'd call the doctor for!) , I would agree
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+1
5 hrs
Spanish term (edited): le dio el telele

he was a bit out of sorts/wasn’t himself

This is my understanding of the passage:

“Veníamos de una comida con la buena gente de la “company”. No. No penséis mal. No había bebido que está a régimen. (Quizas por no beber le dio el telele).”

“We came from a meal with some nice people from the company. And no, before you think the worst: he wasn’t drinking because he’s on a diet (maybe he was a bit out of sorts/wasn’t himself because he’s off the drink).”
Peer comment(s):
agree Susan Andrew : I think this is closest to the intended meaning
22 hrs
Many thanks, Susan :)
Something went wrong...
12 hrs

Did I give you a scare?

See my comment in the Discussion.

Something went wrong...
13 days

"Don't get me wrong, he didn't drink, he's offf the wagon (maybe that's why he freaked out)"

I think it's meant to be humorous and slightly sarcastic. It's definitely Castilian slang, not used in Latin America. A telele could be translated as a fit, as in "he had a fit when he found out his car was stolen". In this case he had a fit, he freaked out, due to being off the wagon, as a reaction to his withdrawal from alcohol.
Something went wrong...
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