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What's SHORTLIST in Spanish?

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The result of SHORTLISTING all the suitable candidates to become our  next president. A SHORTLIST is that precisely a: short list, one with the names of people who are participating in some sort of competition and have been deemed suitable. It can also been a verb, so you can say things such as "SHORLISTED candidates". In Spanish, we say SELECCION or SELECCIONAR, but it´s not necessarily the same. To say LISTACORTA or LISTACORTAR would not make much sense to us.

How do you say MACHUCAR in English?

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"See, Mom? I STUBBED my big toe again. I need to wear shoes!" When you accidentally strike your big toe, or any of your other toes or fingers, against something else that is called MACHUCAR (not to confuse with Machacar). The word in English is TO STUB.  The essential difference is that STUB is a verb and a noun, but as a noun, it has a different meaning: it is the what is left after a cigarette or a pencil after being used. MACHUCAR, the verb, or MACHUCON, the noun, is pretty much the same.

What's DISINGENUOUS in Spanish?

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A DISINGENUOUS act indeed. DISINGENUOUS means Not Sincere. Anyone who gives a false appearance of frankness falls into that description.  Easily, DISINGENUOUS could be used to describe what a politician is like, since most of them are exactly that: DISINGENUOUS. In Spanish the word would be FINGIDO, FALSO, DESHONESTO.

How do you say PANDERETA in English?

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Nope, this is not a Flying Saucer. It is a TAMBOURINE! An instrument that is as common as the Piano or the Violin and yet most English learners (in Ecuador, at least) don't know what is called in English. Perhaps, the answer to that lies in the fact that most of the English names for musical instruments are relatively similar in spelling to their Spanish versions so...         ENGLISH       SPANISH         piano              piano         violin             violín         guitar             guitarra         flute               flauta         trumpet          trompeta     In this case, the word we are looking for is TAMBOURINE. Not quite similar to PANDERETA, is it? 

How do you say CHOMPA in English?

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So this is a CHOMPA and without buttons, it would be a JUMPER (or not?). This is an easy one because CHOMPA is actually JUMPER. The difference is that a CHOMPA is much more general in meaning and for instance, a sweater with buttons is a CHOMPA, but a JUMPER does not open in the front. CHOMPA is commonly used only in some English speaking countries such as Ecuador and Peru. 

What is CATFISH in Spanish?

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" Well, I'm a real CATFISH and I'm not in the Internet. In fact, I hate all kinds of nets, especially fish nets!" CATFISH means PEZ GATO or more specifically BAGRE. These days, nevertheless, the term CATFISH has recently acquired a new meaning. A person who creates a fake identity to perhaps troll others. or with even more sinister purposes, is now commonly called a CATFISH and the action of doing such thing is known as CATFISHING.  There is no term for that in Spanish so perhaps using the term PEZ GATO or BAGRE to refer to those people will be the option to use.

What is To CALL IT A DAY in Spanish?

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"CALL IT A DAY? Why not call it a morning?" TO CALL IT A DAY means finishing what you are doing because you feel tired of it. It is a common expression in English, but that has no equivalent in Spanish. LLAMARLO UN DÍA is the direct translation, but it makes no sense in Spanish. We could say TERMINEMOS CON ESTO, or TERMINEMOS YA, but none of those is considered an expression.