Apr 5, 2017 18:43
8 yrs ago
7 viewers *
Spanish term
vas de listo?
Spanish to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Dialogue between police officer and suspect stopped in street
Place: Barcelona.
Document: police affadavit, complaint
This was a question, asked by police officer of 'suspect' stopped in street - possibly ironic/rhetorical. The 'suspect' asks why he has been stopped, the police officer then says, “Sí, te identificamos porque eres negro y punto, ¿vas de listo?"
The man stopped objects that this is an abuse of police authority, whereupon the police officer arrests him, saying "quedas detenido por listo".
I am not sure how to translate this.
Document: police affadavit, complaint
This was a question, asked by police officer of 'suspect' stopped in street - possibly ironic/rhetorical. The 'suspect' asks why he has been stopped, the police officer then says, “Sí, te identificamos porque eres negro y punto, ¿vas de listo?"
The man stopped objects that this is an abuse of police authority, whereupon the police officer arrests him, saying "quedas detenido por listo".
I am not sure how to translate this.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +11 | Are you trying to be smart? |
neilmac
|
| 5 +3 | Are you being a smart ass/wiseass? |
Phoenix III
|
| 3 | Are you ready to go? |
Barbara Cochran, MFA
|
| 3 -1 | are you readY |
AllegroTrans
|
References
| Ir de listo |
Helena Chavarria
|
Proposed translations
+11
8 mins
Selected
Are you trying to be smart?
Or words to that effect. "Think you're a big man?"....
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Note added at 9 mins (2017-04-05 18:53:24 GMT)
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Followed by "Right, that's it, you're under arrest for being a smartass"...
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Note added at 12 mins (2017-04-05 18:56:16 GMT)
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The "ir de" construction means trying to be/acting like.
http://www.diariodemallorca.es/mallorca/2017/01/18/seremos-t...
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Note added at 14 mins (2017-04-05 18:58:09 GMT)
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https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ir-de-listo.2878862/
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Note added at 21 hrs (2017-04-06 16:16:57 GMT)
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The night before my final university exam, I was walking through the town late at night with a friend and we saw some police officers examining a car a few hundred yards away on some wasteground. About ten minutes later they pulled up beside us in a van and dragged us into it, took us away and charged us with attempting to break into the car, which we hadn't done. When we arrived, the desk sergeant said "I thought they were skinheads" (I had longish dyed blonde here and my friend had very long hair), but the arresting officers paid no attention. I subsequently spent the night in jail and had to apply for a special dispensation to sit my final exam in September. So, I think I can say I have some actual experience of the type of scenario described.
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Note added at 9 mins (2017-04-05 18:53:24 GMT)
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Followed by "Right, that's it, you're under arrest for being a smartass"...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2017-04-05 18:56:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
The "ir de" construction means trying to be/acting like.
http://www.diariodemallorca.es/mallorca/2017/01/18/seremos-t...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2017-04-05 18:58:09 GMT)
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https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/ir-de-listo.2878862/
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Note added at 21 hrs (2017-04-06 16:16:57 GMT)
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The night before my final university exam, I was walking through the town late at night with a friend and we saw some police officers examining a car a few hundred yards away on some wasteground. About ten minutes later they pulled up beside us in a van and dragged us into it, took us away and charged us with attempting to break into the car, which we hadn't done. When we arrived, the desk sergeant said "I thought they were skinheads" (I had longish dyed blonde here and my friend had very long hair), but the arresting officers paid no attention. I subsequently spent the night in jail and had to apply for a special dispensation to sit my final exam in September. So, I think I can say I have some actual experience of the type of scenario described.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Helena Chavarria
: Yes, that's what I think, too.
6 mins
|
|
At last! I was about to add "ask a Spanish speaker"... :-)
|
|
| neutral |
Barbara Cochran, MFA
: I don't think the police officer thinks of the guy as having any intellectual abilities. "Smart", in this case, should not stand alone.
20 mins
|
|
OK, think of Rod Steiger in Heat of the Night: "Don't you smart mouth me, boy"...
|
|
| agree |
Anne Smith Campbell
: Yes, that's the meaning behind the Spanish expression.
32 mins
|
| agree |
12316323 (X)
: Yeah, there's no two ways about it with this one.
33 mins
|
| agree |
Muriel Vasconcellos (X)
39 mins
|
| agree |
Patricia Fierro, M. Sc.
41 mins
|
| agree |
Marie Wilson
: Very common expression in Spain. I was thinking of smart-alec.
1 hr
|
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
1 hr
|
| agree |
Robert Carter
: Or "clever", if it's for the UK.
1 hr
|
| agree |
Charles Davis
1 hr
|
| agree |
Toni Castano
: I also like Marie´s "smart alec(k)".
3 hrs
|
| agree |
David Hollywood
: a lot of ways to do this but yours is fine and suitably idiomatic
3 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you all for your suggestions. In the end I followed Neilmac's suggestion and used 'are you trying to be smart?', and the second time, 'you're arrested for being a smartass'. "
-1
8 mins
AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Sensible solutions
Native in: English (Variant: Wessexois) 
Works in: French to English, English, English to French
Related KudoZ points
:
16
are you readY
meaning (?) "are you ready to come with us to the station?" I assume
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
neilmac
: This is the dictionary definition, not the street usage I perceive in the query....
7 mins
|
|
OK it seems this is street language
|
|
| disagree |
Jyri Savolainen
: This is not correct. Vas de listo? Means in spoken language that someone is trying to be smart. It is a little bit of an insult.
10 hrs
|
|
OK it seems this is street language
|
|
| neutral |
12316323 (X)
: It's not street language, just colloquial. The meaning is used universally, though more in some countries than others.
23 hrs
|
|
point taken, I was unfamiliar with the term
|
14 mins
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Are you ready to go?
Off to jail.
I think the "listo" that shows up at the end of the passage means that the guy is "in a real fix".
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Note added at 25 mins (2017-04-05 19:09:20 GMT)
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Or maybe just "Ready to go?"
I think the "listo" that shows up at the end of the passage means that the guy is "in a real fix".
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Note added at 25 mins (2017-04-05 19:09:20 GMT)
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Or maybe just "Ready to go?"
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
neilmac
: No, they're actually harrassing the man. "Ready to go" is too polite.
2 mins
|
|
Maybe "ready to go" would be better?
|
+3
1 hr
Phoenix III
United States
United States
Native in Spanish
&
English
United States
True words...
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Spanish (Variant: Latin American)
Works in: Spanish to English, Spanish, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Are you being a smart ass/wiseass?
I was going to say smart aleck but Kathryn beat me to the punch. If the scene is the street and it involves a policeman and a suspect, then there is little doubt that the lingo would be Shakespearean. Most likely, it will be street talk.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
patinba
: Works best, especially with the last use of "listo" in the context : "I'm arresting you for being a smartass"
19 hrs
|
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Many thanks!
|
|
| agree |
12316323 (X)
: Also good (smartass- haven't heard wiseass), maybe even more natural.
22 hrs
|
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Thanks so much!
|
|
| agree |
Diego Zaragoza
: Smartass would be the correct translation, also with the rudeness/superiority connotation.
18 days
|
|
Thank you!
|
Reference comments
22 mins
Helena Chavarria
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Spain
Striving for excellence
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Spanish to English, Catalan to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Reference:
Ir de listo
¿Nos falta ser un poco más chovinistas?
Es tan ridícula una cuestión como la otra. Son extremos. Creerte, como los franceses, que lo tuyo es siempre lo mejor, es ridículo. Pero también lo es lo contrario. Y hay muchos que se las dan de listos. Aunque está claro que ir de listo es de tontos.
http://elpais.com/diario/2008/04/27/eps/1209277614_850215.ht...
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Note added at 31 mins (2017-04-05 19:15:13 GMT)
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El Karma encuentra a este conductor impaciente que va de listo
En condiciones de tráfico muy intenso o incluso con grandes retenciones es posible que más de un automovilista haya pensado cuánto avanzaría si pudiera salir de su carril para circular por el arcén. Seguramente, dicha idea habrá sido recurrente en aquellos conductores que durante estas Navidades han sufrido los colapsos de las carreteras por la salida masiva de vehículos.
Por supuesto, esta acción está prohibida, aunque siempre hay algún “listo” que decide ignorar las normas de circulación creyendo que puede hacer lo que le plazca. Este fue el caso del conductor de un Nissan Juke de color rojo en Inglaterra.
http://www.lavanguardia.com/motor/videos/20161228/4127783739...
Mi sobrino de 20 años es un niñato que va de listo...hace unos meses compró un vehiculo de segunda mano a una prima lejana de 24 años.
No hizo el cambio de nombre y le llegó una multa a la chica de 250 euros en radar...ella los pago, porque el niñato no tiene un duro.
https://porticolegal.expansion.com/foro/un-ninato-que-va-de-...
Es tan ridícula una cuestión como la otra. Son extremos. Creerte, como los franceses, que lo tuyo es siempre lo mejor, es ridículo. Pero también lo es lo contrario. Y hay muchos que se las dan de listos. Aunque está claro que ir de listo es de tontos.
http://elpais.com/diario/2008/04/27/eps/1209277614_850215.ht...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 31 mins (2017-04-05 19:15:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
El Karma encuentra a este conductor impaciente que va de listo
En condiciones de tráfico muy intenso o incluso con grandes retenciones es posible que más de un automovilista haya pensado cuánto avanzaría si pudiera salir de su carril para circular por el arcén. Seguramente, dicha idea habrá sido recurrente en aquellos conductores que durante estas Navidades han sufrido los colapsos de las carreteras por la salida masiva de vehículos.
Por supuesto, esta acción está prohibida, aunque siempre hay algún “listo” que decide ignorar las normas de circulación creyendo que puede hacer lo que le plazca. Este fue el caso del conductor de un Nissan Juke de color rojo en Inglaterra.
http://www.lavanguardia.com/motor/videos/20161228/4127783739...
Mi sobrino de 20 años es un niñato que va de listo...hace unos meses compró un vehiculo de segunda mano a una prima lejana de 24 años.
No hizo el cambio de nombre y le llegó una multa a la chica de 250 euros en radar...ella los pago, porque el niñato no tiene un duro.
https://porticolegal.expansion.com/foro/un-ninato-que-va-de-...
Note from asker:
| Thank you for the useful examples you give, Helena. |
Discussion
'Estar listo' = To be prepared;
'Ser listo' = To be clever.