# He's a little nothing



## devata

In my mystery novel, two of my characters are a a 30-year-old male investigator, Nicholas, and his 18-year-old Latino (Mexico-born) "wheel man" Miguel (Miguel does the tailing of suspects and other duties). I want to occasionally have Miguel use Mexican slang or speak in Spanish. In the following, Miguel is reporting to Nicholas about a suspect, Guzman. Here is what I have:

“Landlord’s got some cop buddy busting in during the night for parole checks,” Miguel said.
“Parole checks?” (Nicholas is speaking.)
“Guzman spent time in la pinta for selling drugs.”
“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "Little nothing. Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall. The day after Guzman’s released, his wife’s capped. And now he’s disappeared.”

In response to Nicholas's "Big operator?," I'd like Miguel to say the "Little nothing" in Spanish. Searching Wordreference has led me to believe that maybe Miguel would say, "Don nadie." Correct? Or is there something more apt?

Thanks!

_Moderator's note
The title of the thread should be the original phrase to be translated without any extra words.
Thank you and welcome.
Bevj_


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## Magazine

Justo lo que iba a sugerir. 

Un don nadie. (with the article)


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## VaneF

Sí!

Un don nadie.


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## iribela

Yo, en comparación/contraste con 'big operator' consideraría 'de poca monta', como insignificante, mercachifle.


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## donbill

Es un *cero a la izquierda*.


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## franzjekill

¿Y cómo se dice en español de México un vendedor de droga de poca monta? En España le llaman camello. No sé siquiera cómo se llama en mi país.


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## devata

Thanks, everyone! (For most of your answers, I'm having to stick your replies into Google Translate, as I'm afraid I don't speak Spanish!)


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## Lyrica_Soundbite

I agree with "Un don nadie."


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## MiguelitOOO

Write it this way:

_“Es un don nadie. Wanted to make easy money for...”
_
(With “es”)


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## Mr.Dent

You could also add a couple of words.
“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "No es el mero mero solamente un don nadie...


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## MiguelitOOO

franzjekill said:


> ¿Y cómo se dice en español de México un vendedor de droga de poca monta?



Supongo que puede variar entre regiones. Por donde vivo, a veces les dicen a estas personas “distribuidor hormiga” o “vendedor hormiga”, y a su actividad a baja escala.... siii!!!, ya me acordé, Gracias, se llaman “*narcomenudista(s)*”, e iba a decirte que su actividad es el “narcomenudeo”.

Saludos.


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## franzjekill

Perfecto, MiguelitOOO, porque en la pregunta inicial dice que quiere que su personaje use ocasionalmente "Mexican slang".


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## devata

What if I write the following:

*Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. “_Don Nadie._ Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall."*

The "Don Nadie" would translate as "Mr. Nobody," right?


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## Pdstelle

devata said:


> What if I write the following:
> 
> *Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. “_Don Nadie._ Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall."*
> 
> The "Don Nadie" would translate as "Mr. Nobody," right?


Yes


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## franzjekill

Talking about a drug dealer, "es un don nadie" wouldn't be the first thing that pops into my mind.


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## Elixabete

franzjekill said:


> Talking about a drug dealer, "es un don nadie" wouldn't be the first thing that pops into my mind.


Exactly, I can't offer a good alternative in Mexican Spanish, in Spain it would be something along the lines of " un mierda", " un pringao"


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## devata

franzjekill said:


> Talking about a drug dealer, "es un don nadie" wouldn't be the first thing that pops into my mind.



I'm trying to get across that Guzman is a "little nothing," not a "big operator." He's a small fry. So I was hoping the "_Don Nadie._ Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall" would get that across. Or a friend suggested I could write,

*Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "_No es nada. _Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall_."*
_
I don't know which of the "Don Nadie" or "No es nada" gets my meaning across better, or if there's some other way. But I do want the Spanish to be only a few words.


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## Amapolas

Cuando vi el título mi mente se fue directamente a "un don nadie". Creo que es una frase tan común que nos suena nautral. Sin embargo, dado el contexto, me parecen mucho más adecuadas las opciones que aportó Iribela: un mercachifle insignificante o de poca monta.


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## Amapolas

devata said:


> I don't know which of the "Don Nadie" or "No es nada" gets my meaning across better, or if there's some other way. But I do want the Spanish to be only a few words.


As regards "*un* don nadie" (mind the article) I just cross-posted with you.
'No es nada' just doesn't work here, in my humble opinion. It doesn't seem to fit the situation.

Edit: We insist on the article on the one hand because it's a fixed expression, but also because it's not the name of a person, as in Don Jorge, but sort of a common noun: he's *a* nothing, he's *a* don-nadie. I hope this makes it clearer.


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## Pdstelle

Se puede decir que es un "pez pequeño", en contraposición a "pez gordo" ? Gracias


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## iribela

Pdstelle said:


> Se puede decir que es un "pez pequeño", en contraposición a "pez gordo" ? Gracias


A mí no me parece muy idiomático, pero quién sabe, en el ambiente... Por ahora sigo con 'de poca monta'. Lo puede poner sin artículo "Narco de poca monta".


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## Elixabete

iribela said:


> A mí no me parece muy idiomático, pero quién sabe, en el ambiente... Por ahora sigo con 'de poca monta'. Lo puede poner sin artículo "Narco de poca monta".


 Sí, " de poca monta" puede ser una buena opción a falta de algo más slangy mexicano .
Lo de pez pequeño tampoco me convence.


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## Mr.Dent

El mero mero is most definitely a Mexican expression which, as far as I know, is not used in other countries. So, you can use mero mero and leave a little nothing  untranslated. Something like this:
“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "El mero mero --nah, a little nothing...
or
“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "No es el mero mero, just some small fry...


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## devata

Thanks for your continued help and corrections, everyone. Mr. Dent, I like your "El mero mero." My goal has been to use the Spanish in such a way that the meaning is pretty clear from the context of the story. But I'm also going to have a small glossary of Mexican slang/Spanish words at the end of the novel, in case people want to look some of the words up. So, in the body of the novel, I could either leave that "El mero mero" entirely untranslated (since the meaning is basically gotten across by Miguel's shaking his head, and the expression will be in the glossary) and write his response as,

Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "_El mero mero._ Wanted to make easy money..."

Or, since Nicholas occasionally translates Miguel's Spanish to himself (in internal dialogue), I could have:


“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "_El mero mero._"
A small fry.
“Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall,” Miguel said. “The day after Guzman’s released, his wife’s capped. And now he’s disappeared.”

How does that sound?


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## Mr.Dent

devata said:


> Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "_El mero mero --*no*._ Wanted to make easy money..."


Sometimes we shake our head yes.



devata said:


> Big operator?”
> Miguel shook his head *no*, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "_El mero mero._"
> A small fry.
> “Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall,” Miguel said. “The day after Guzman’s released, his wife’s capped. And now he’s disappeared.”


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## devata

Presumably this would take care of any confusion caused by the head-shaking:

“Big operator?”
Miguel gave a sharp shake his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze, waving the notion away. “_El mero mero--no._”
A small fry.


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## Pdstelle

iribela said:


> A mí no me parece muy idiomático, pero quién sabe, en el ambiente... Por ahora sigo con 'de poca monta'. Lo puede poner sin artículo "Narco de poca monta".


Gracias por tu respuesta, Iribela.
"De poca monta" me parece muy apropriado.

Qué curioso: en Español se dice de alguien importante que es *un pez gordo" *pero el contrario se expresa de otra manera. 
En Italiano existe sólo la expressión "pez pequeño" (*un pesce piccolo) *
para describir alguien de poca importancia, mientras que " un pez gordo" es *un pezzo grosso *(una gran pieza).


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## MiguelitOOO

“El mero mero” significa “el único que manda”, el que está por encima de todos y que nadie está por encima de él (el plural sería “los meros meros” y puede ser un grupo de personas donde hay un mero mero entre ellos, o rivales sin un mero mero entre ellos).

Pienso que está bien que el personaje Miguel use una palabra en español, pero no tiene que ser necesariamente en “slang mexicano”.

A la pregunta “*Big operator?*”, se podría contestar simplemente: “*No. Un operadorcillo*”, para bajar de inmediato la categoría de la persona mencionada.


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## devata

Thanks, Miguilit000, I see what you're saying about “El mero mero.” And Miguel doesn't always use slang, just some Spanish. What if Miguel responds with, “_Narco de poca monta_"? If I'm understanding some of the discussion above, that would mean "Small-time drug dealer," yes? And can I abbreviate his response to, "_De poca monta." _?


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## MiguelitOOO

devata said:


> Thanks, Miguilit000, I see what you're saying about “El mero mero.” And Miguel doesn't always use slang, just some Spanish. What if Miguel responds with, “_Narco de poca monta_"? If I'm understanding some of the discussion above, that would mean "Small-time drug dealer," yes? And can I abbreviate his response to, "_De poca monta." _?


Yes. It could be “narco de poca monta” or “*Es* de poca monta”.

“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head and says:
“Es de poca monta”. 


Or

“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head and says:
“No. De poca monta”.

(With “es” or with “no” in order to avoid the next idea: “Big operator of poca monta/Big operator de poca monta”).


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## devata

MiguelitOOO said:


> Yes. It could be “narco de poca monta” or “*Es* de poca monta”


 
Thanks!


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## VaneF

Otras opciones:
"No. Un pelagatos".
"No. Un cuatro de copas".


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## Amapolas

VaneF said:


> Otras opciones:
> "No. Un pelagatos".
> "No. Un cuatro de copas".


Me encanta _pelagatos_. ¿Cómo no me acordé de esa? 
Lo que no sé es si _cuatro de copas _no es muy específico en relación con el juego del _truco_. Por ahí en otros países no se comprenda.


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## Elixabete

Amapolas said:


> Me encanta _pelagatos_. ¿Cómo no me acordé de esa?
> Lo que no sé es si _cuatro de copas _no es muy específico en relación con el juego del _truco_. Por ahí en otros países no se comprenda.


Desde luego esa es la idea, "pelagatos". Nosotros tenemos otra que no sé si se usa al otro lado del charco ( supongo que no): " mindundi". Lo único que igual suenan un poco antiguas...No sé,  si os suena bien a vosotras ¡genial!
Lo que tampoco sé es cómo suenan en boca de un poli hablando de narcos... ¿Igual "de poca monta" que es más neutro suena mejor? Bueno,  no me hagáis ni caso, no sé ni para qué opino si de castellano mexicano no paso de "pendejo"


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## devata

VaneF said:


> "No. Un pelagatos".
> "No. Un cuatro de copas".


 Thanks! "Un cuatro de copas" is certainly interesting, but I don't think Nicholas would know what Miguel was talking about . Google Translate gave me the hilarious result that it meant "A four of drinks," so I was picturing a tray of alcoholic drinks. But when I searched the web I turned up that the phrase refers to a Tarot card.


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## Pilarcita

De poca monta no se usa mucho en México. Achichincle es más común, o gato. Por supuesto el mero mero candelero es muy de acá.


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## Amapolas

devata said:


> Thanks! "Un cuatro de copas" is certainly interesting, but I don't think Nicholas would know what Miguel was talking about . Google Translate gave me the hilarious result that it meant "A four of drinks," so I was picturing a tray of alcoholic drinks. But when I searched the web I turned up that the phrase refers to a Tarot card.


Google Translate can be an endless source of entertainment.  Praise the Gods for the WR forums.

As to the _cuatro de copas_, it's not a Tarot card. I'm agraid a lot of information on the web can be misleading. It's a card from the Spanish cards (Spanish deck?) which has _oros, copas, bastos y espadas_, as opposed to the French style cards used in poker. In a game we play on these shores, called _truco_, that card has the lowest value. So calling someone a _cuatro de copas_ means they are insignificant.


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## Magazine

> Pelagatos.
> 
> Hombre pobre y desvalido, a menudo despreciable; sujeto de muy baja condición social, que a su pobreza une villanía. El calificativo alude al bolsón donde se guardaba antaño el dinero, llamado "gato" por hacerse con la piel de ese animal: pelar el gato era registrarlo hasta el fondo en busca de algún maravedí que pudiera haber quedado en su fondo. Bretón de los Herreros utiliza el término en el siguiente contexto:
> 
> ¿Tan mal fundado juzgas el derecho
> 
> de una rica al amor de un pelagatos
> 
> que no tiene ni viña ni barbecho?
> 
> INVENTARIO GENERAL DE INSULTOS



He encontrado esto para pelagatos. Aquí al menos no se asociaría con un traficante de drogas, ni de poca ni de mucha monta.

Me gusta la sugerencia de Miguelito (que además es de México, y devata busca algún término que se entienda en ese país.) . "Narco de poca monta"...no solo se entiende en seguida (en cualquier lugar) sino que además no hay lugar a dudas de qué hablas. con pelagatos desde luego que sí, nunca lo asociaríamos  a trafiqueo de drogas.


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## Elixabete

http://dle.rae.es/?id=SMVpqUW Según la RAE un pelagatos  es un persona insignificante y mediocre, sin posición social o económica, me parece que se puede aplicar a cualquier oficio/ gremio. Hablando de narcos un "pelagatos" sería un narco insignificante o mediocre,  para mí es un sinónimo de " don nadie". En cuanto al  significado, en mi opinión,  encaja perfectamente, otra cosa es si es la mejor opción en este caso, eso se lo dejo a nuestros compañeros mexicanos.


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## Mr.Dent

Here are more options. They change the meaning a bit, but they have the advantage of being uniquely Mexican expressions. 
Güey, _guey or wey -- _it is used more or less like we use the word _dude, _but can also be used as an insult like the word _fool. guey

Naco -- Nacos _are low-class people_. Naco - Diccionario Inglés-Español WordReference.com_


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## iribela

Magazine said:


> He encontrado esto para pelagatos. Aquí al menos no se asociaría con un traficante de drogas, ni de poca ni de mucha monta.
> 
> Me gusta la sugerencia de Miguelito (que además es de México, y devata busca algún término que se entienda en ese país.) . "Narco de poca monta"...no solo se entiende en seguida (en cualquier lugar) sino que además no hay lugar a dudas de qué hablas. con pelagatos desde luego que sí, nunca lo asociaríamos  a trafiqueo de drogas.



Lo de 'de poca monta' viene ya desde el post #4 (y #21), pero al parecer las opiniones están muy divididas.


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## VaneF

Yo creo que "poca monta" en la opción que propuso Miguelito funciona muy bien:

“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head and says:
“No. De poca monta”.

Los términos "un pelagatos" y "un cuatro de copas" las propuse para tener más opciones que elegir. Ambos términos se refieren a personas sin valor, sin importancia, de muy bajo nivel jerárquico. Sin duda la segunda opción es muy localista (como explicó Amapolas, es la carta de menos valor en el juego del truco) Tal vez "un pinche" se entiende más, pero se que en Mexico ese término es polisémico y seguramente amerita un hilo aparte. ¡Saludos!


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## Magazine

VaneF said:


> Yo creo que "poca monta" en la opción que propuso Miguelito funciona muy bien:



Yo también



> Los términos "un pelagatos" y "un cuatro de copas" las propuse para tener más opciones que elegir. Ambos términos se refieren a personas sin valor, sin importancia



_Pelagatos_ tiene muchas acepciones, sin embargo no se usaría en el contexto de un traficante. "Cuatro de copas", personalmente no lo había oído nunca.

_De poca monta_ sin embargo puede ser cualquiera que está en el último escalón de un oficio, se entendería perfectamente en en contexto "droga". De hecho, al menos en España, _un ladrón de poca monta_ sería un uso muy habitual.


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## Amapolas

Ya que Devata pidió opciones en castellano de México, creo que conviene tomar en cuenta las opiniones de Miguelito y de Pilarcita, que juegan de locales.


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## devata

This morning, I emailed my question to my sister-in-law, and I also emailed her the link to this discussion thread so she could read all your replies. She is Mexican-American, and she lives in California near where my story takes place. Personally, I like "No. De poca monta,” or "Distribuidor hormiga,_" _but maybe she'll think my character, Miguel, would say something different. (Maybe some of the Spanish expressions in Southern California are a little bit different than the Spanish expressions in Mexico!) I will let you know what she thinks, but she is always slow in answering her emails.


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## Magazine

Amapolas said:


> Ya que Devata pidió opciones en castellano de México, creo que conviene tomar en cuenta las opiniones de Miguelito y de Pilarcita, que juegan de locales.



Hi devata, I totally agree with amapolas. Here in Spain we often use a completely different word than in other countries.

Please let us know what your sister-in-law said, I am intrigued


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## devata

I finally got a reply from my sister-in-law (actually, from *her* brother-in-law, Carlos). He works in a public defender's office and has contact with Mexican drug dealers, gangsters, etc. From the various possibilites all of you came up with, he likes best "hormiga" (thanks, Miguelit000). He said California gangs use the term. But instead of using the full term “distribuidor hormiga” or “vendedor hormiga,” I'm just going to have my character Miguel use "hormiga." Carlos thought the implication would come across fine. So that part of the conversation would be: 

“Big operator?”

Miguel gave a sharp shake his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze, waving the notion away. “_Una hormiga._”

An ant.

“Wanted to make easy money for the family and took a hard fall,” Miguel said. “The day after Guzman’s released, his wife’s capped. And now he’s disappeared.”
***
By the way, "una" is the correct word to use for "an" here, right?
Thanks!


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## Magazine

I would use: *un* hormiga. 

We are not talking about a _real_ ant here but a man who is called an ant.


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## devata

Thanks, Magazine--that's exactly what I wanted to know!


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## Magazine

devata said:


> Thanks, Magazine--that's exactly what I wanted to know!



always a pleasure, devata. 

Actually, I have another example you can detect on the web. Una rata is a rat. But if it's a man we are talking about, it means : he is really stingy. 

Es _*un*_ rata, tiene ratas en los bolsillos. 

However, in your story you have an easy choice: don't use an article. it would fit nicely into the context. 


“Big operator?”
Miguel shook his head, his cowlick waving in the breeze. "Hormiga"...wanted to make...


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## devata

Magazine said:


> However, in your story you have an easy choice: don't use an article. it would fit nicely into the context.


 
Excellent idea! Thanks!


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## Amapolas

I agree with Magazine on both accounts. Either use 'un' (after all, it's like short for _un operario hormiga_) or go without the article in this context. 
Good luck with your story.


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## Magazine

Thanks amapola, and devata, I hope you have more questions, I love slang  

It was also new to me...hormiga, nobody would have understood that over here in Spain. We would have thought: oh, un hormiga, somebody very diligent, hard working.


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