# Los chupamos



## CaritoReyna

Is there an informal way of saying " to abduct" people?
In Argentine very rude language they say "los chupamos" (We abduct them), but if I write "We abduct them" I completely change the style.
The context is two generals planning to what they call "to put an end to terrorism by making suspects "disappear"".


----------



## FromPA

In your context, you could say “we make them disappear.”   The inference is that they will never be seen again.


----------



## Rocko!

Sin usar slang sería "_catch and get rid of them_" (si el contexto de "chuparlos" fuera más amplio, sería: _find, catch and get rid of them_).

Y supongo que "nadie se dio cuenta y nadie supo".

¿Todo en una sola palabra? A ver qué dicen los nativos.


----------



## boroman

Hola, informalmente no sé, pero hay literatura respecto de los desaparecidos, de esa época. Y lo traducen suck up.
 The body of the _disappeared_ – '_sucked up_' (chupado) as it was previously termed in _Argentinian_ military jargon (...)


----------



## horsewishr

FromPA said:


> In your context, you could say “we make them disappear.”   The inference is that they will never be seen again.


----------



## lagartija68

To "suck" was to secretly kidnap. In principle, it did not mean to make them disappear or to capture and dispose of them. They are things that happened next in any case.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

I think it's possible to say "We disappear them." (I may, if I can summon the energy to do so, put up a thread about this in English Only.)


----------



## ewie

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> I think it's possible to say "We disappear them."


 Yep, I've definitely heard that.


----------



## CaritoReyna

How about "We shanghai them?


----------



## FromPA

CaritoReyna said:


> How about "We shanghai them?


It would have to be “shanghaied”.  

Culturally insensitive?  You never know these days.


----------



## ewie

_Shanghai_ means something else:
to kidnap or otherwise force (a sailor) to become a member of the crew of a ship.
Loosely: to force someone to do (a job/thing) they don't want to do.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

ewie said:


> _Shanghai_ means something else:
> to kidnap or otherwise force (a sailor) to become a member of the crew of a ship.
> Loosely: to force someone to do (a job/thing) they don't want to do.



Yes.


----------



## CaritoReyna

ain'ttranslationfun? said:


> Yes.


So? 
If I write We disappear them, it wouldn't be rude, or slang...


----------



## SuperScuffer

When you say "very rude language" what do you mean?  Rude would be "put an end to terrorism by making suspects fucking disappear".

Also have a look at "extraordinary rendition" or "secret rendition" for more recent examples of this which might give you some ideas.


----------



## CaritoReyna

SuperScuffer said:


> When you say "very rude language" what do you mean?  Rude would be "put an end to terrorism by making suspects fucking disappear".
> 
> Also have a look at "extraordinary rendition" or "secret rendition" for more recent examples of this which might give you some ideas.


I like fucking disappear them.
Thanks a lot!


----------



## ewie

Depending on your sentence (which you haven't shared with us), it might be better to say _... disappear the fuckers:

What do I plan to do with them? – disappear the fuckers._


----------



## bandini

"Disappear" is intransitive and cannot take a direct object.  Plus it sounds weird to use it like that.  Something can disappear but you can't disappear anything.


----------



## sound shift

bandini said:


> "Disappear" is intransitive and cannot take a direct object.  Plus it sounds weird to use it like that.


It has been used transitively since the last military junta in Argentina, in imitation of the transitive "desaparecer" that was employed in that country to describe the sort of thing we're discussing here.


----------



## ewie

sound shift said:


> It has been used transitively since the last military junta in Argentina, in imitation of the transitive use of "desaparecer" that was employed in Argentina to describe the sort of thing we're discussing here.


----------



## bandini

Cool.  I'm not a grammar nazi but when I hear stuff like this... or 
"My cousin recommended me to join this group"
 it's a little cringy but thanks for the information.


----------



## ain'ttranslationfun?

I remember coming across "to disappear" used transitively in Joseph Heller's _Catch-22_.


----------



## SuperScuffer

bandini said:


> "Disappear" is intransitive and cannot take a direct object.  Plus it sounds weird to use it like that.  Something can disappear but you can't disappear anything.


The op did ask for rude or slang, so "disappear the fuckers" would fit both those categories really.  Not necessarily correct English, but easily understood.


----------



## CaritoReyna

SuperScuffer said:


> The op did ask for rude or slang, so "disappear the fuckers" would fit both those categories really.  Not necessarily correct English, but easily understood.


I'll use that one then. Many thanks.


----------



## boroman

No es exactamente rudo decir _los chupamos _y no son_ fuckers_, la expresión provoca más bien miedo y es despreciativo hacia las personas, porque es el equivalente a succionar hormigas con un aspirador.


----------



## CaritoReyna

E cierto... Muy cierto... entonces?


----------



## MonsieurGonzalito

"Chupar", como bien explicó @lagartija68, significa en Argentina "arrestar de manera informal, secreta, por afuera de los canales legales".
No implica per se desprecio a los detenidos.
Se refiere al método por el cual son detenidos.


----------



## CaritoReyna

MonsieurGonzalito said:


> "Chupar", como bien explicó @lagartija68, significa en Argentina "arrestar de manera informal, secreta, por afuera de los canales legales".
> No implica per se desprecio a los detenidos.
> Se refiere al método por el cual son detenidos.


Pero era una forma muy agresiva de decirlo... Por eso en algún momento pregunté si había alguna forma más informal de decir "abduct". Porque eso sería... 
Y yo lo entiendo como una forma agresiva de decirlo... No es el mismo tono decir "los secuestramos"/ los hacemos desaparecer que decir "los chupamos...


----------



## sound shift

No sé si esto podría funcionar:


> *nab [sb]⇒* _vtr__slang_ (catch, apprehend) (_informal, atrapar_)pillar⇒ _vtr_echar el guante _loc verb_(_MX_)apañar⇒ _vtr_cachar⇒ _vtr_The kidnappers nabbed the victim as he got into his car.Los secuestradores pillaron a la víctima mientras se metía en su auto.


(diccionario WR)


----------



## CaritoReyna

Not that meaning either. A difficult one, uh?
Thanks anyways.


----------



## sound shift

What about "grab"? It can imply illegality.

So can "snatch".


----------



## CaritoReyna

I'll go for snatch. Seems to be more according to the context.
Many thanks.


----------

