# A otra cosa, mariposa.



## paula_88

Hello everyone! Do you know an equivalent idiom for "a otra cosa mariposa" in English? Thanks in advance!!


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## naughtybiscuit

¿En qué sentido lo utilizas en español, y para qué?


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

It's used to move on to another topic... But I have no idea how to translate it, sorry...


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## naughtybiscuit

Ahh so if you were going on and on about something, and to change the subject you'd say this - to mean "let's talk about something else" ??


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## paula_88

Thanks a lot for the answers! Mmm decimos "a otra cosa mariposa" por ejemplo para decir: ya está pasemos a otra cosa, let's move on or something like that.


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## Venezuelan_sweetie

Well, Gaturro (by Nik) translates it just like that in a handbook of "Brutish english", which is an "apología del Spanglish"...

If I were you, I wouldn't lean on that sentence so blindly...


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## paula_88

Thanks a lot to you all  Yes, that would be a literal translation. I was wondering if you had an idiom with a similar meaning as this one since my teachers have always told me not to translate idioms literally. *¡¡*Pero igual muchas gracias a todos!!


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## ghoti

I can't think of anything similar in English, but sometimes we say, "Moving right along...." That's especially done if the subject we want to change or avoid is unpleasant, rude, too sexually graphic, etc.


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## gotitadeleche

ghoti said:


> I can't think of anything similar in English, but sometimes we say, "Moving right along...." That's especially done if the subject we want to change or avoid is unpleasant, rude, too sexually graphic, etc.



This is what I was thinking about too.


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## paula_88

'Moving right along'... how do you use that one, for example: "ok, let's move right along" or to move right along to another topic?


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## Soy Yo

"Moving right along..."

It's to change the subject or to ignore an "embarrassing" topic or situation and "move on."

Half the alphabet is in a meeting and talking about the year's word productivity.

A. "Last year we grossed 50 million new words and...:

B. "Goddamit, there's a dead cockroach in the bottom of my cup!"

(Long embarrassing pause.)

A. "Well, moving right along.... last year we did very well, especially from G to L... bla, bla, bla."


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## ausum

"A otra cosa mariposa" is used in several ways, although within the same sense. For example, this is something you could find in a blog entry: 

_"Terminé de lavar el auto y quedó muy bien. A otra cosa mariposa. Tengo que llamar a Jane"._ 

In that sentence the phrase is used as an intimate thinking, like "now I got to move on another subject", although in a playful way (due to the syllable rime.

Is there such an equivalent in English?


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## gotitadeleche

naughtybiscuit said:


> See the link above - quickly before my post gets deleted for being off-topic haha!



When we reach an awkward part of a conversation and want to change the subject, someone will say "[And] Moving right along, what do you think about that baseball game last night? (or some other subject, any other subject, just to change the conversation.) Sometimes the change in subject will be intentionally extreme and everyone may laugh a little because we know that the new subject is not really something of interest, but simply an excuse to divert the conversation from the troublesome subject. I hope I have made sense.


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## naughtybiscuit

I can't think of any way of making it so playful in English. I would probably say "anyway, moving on" or something like that. 

I'm very disappointed we don't have such a cool phrase! :-(


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## gotitadeleche

ausum said:


> "A otra cosa mariposa" is used in several ways, although within the same sense. For example, this is something you could find in a blog entry:
> 
> _"Terminé de lavar el auto y quedó muy bien. A otra cosa mariposa. Tengo que llamar a Jane"._
> 
> In that sentence the phrase is used as an intimate thinking, like "now I got to move on another subject", although in a playful way (due to the syllable rime.
> 
> Is there such an equivalent in English?



In this case we will sometimes simply say "Now, to change the subject..."


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## ausum

What about "next subject!" (as a standalone phrase)?  

It seems to have an unnecessary imperative quality that ends up being playful in the same way as "a otra cosa mariposa" although without the rime, doesn't it?


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## Soy Yo

Yes... Next subject works for me!

Now... next subject?


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## paula_88

I like that one! Thanks a lot guys for the help!!!!


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## loladamore

You can sometimes hear the expresssion *More tea, Vicar?* as a humorous reaction to an embarassing moment, in an attempt to change the subject, although that's almost undoubtedly very British, and I might be showing my age.


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## ausum

loladamore said:


> You can sometimes hear the expresssion *More tea, Vicar?* as a humorous reaction to an embarassing moment, in an attempt to change the subject, although that's almost undoubtedly very British, and I might be showing my age.


 
Yes, that's utterly british. 

But "a otra cosa mariposa" is a phrase you can use even in your thoughts. Like: "I'm terribly worried about my national soccer team who play against Brazil today. A otra cosa mariposa. I got work to do."


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## Mirlo

ausum said:


> Yes, that's utterly british.
> 
> But "a otra cosa mariposa" is a phrase you can use even in your thoughts. Like: "I'm terribly worried about my national soccer team who play against Brazil today. A otra cosa mariposa. I got work to do."


 
so It will be like saying "next" ???  
saludos,


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## ausum

Mirlo said:


> so It will be like saying "next" ???
> saludos,


 
Oh, yes. As I previously guessed, it would be more like "next subject!" (in imperative), a sort of playful phrase you use as a generic subject changer, and not only during a conversation, but in any kind of writing too.

And now, a otra cosa mariposa.


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## ghoti

Another subject-changer in American English is "How about those Mets," or "How 'bout those Red Sox," or (ungrammatical but frequent) "How 'bout them Knicks." Just put in your favorite sports team name. It can be used when the team has actually recently done something great, but usually it's a subject-changer whether the Mets, or Sox, or whoever just did something or not.


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## naughtybiscuit

Doesn't work in British English though :-( which is a shame because I bet with a bit of humor that is more or less exactly what a otra cosa mariposa would mean!


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## loladamore

Another British equivalent is:

What lovely weather for the time of year!

I think under normal circumstances I would just say, 'Moving on...'.


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## naughtybiscuit

Of course! 

Lovely weather we're having ...

Although that wouldn't really be used in the cases where people have said they use "a otra cosa mariposa" in trains of thought would it :-s

I'm starting to think we are not fortunate enough to have such a lovely phrase. What a pity!


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## pikeman

In british english we sometimes say "And now for something completly different".
This (believe it or not) is funny becasue it is a phrase regularly used in the Monty Python TV series of the 70's - which has embedded itself so deep in our society that almost everyone will get the reference.

Does "A otra cosa, mariposa" carry any derogatory connotations? I'm thinking of the butterfly=superficial/lightweight connotation in English.


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## Masood

Atención: a partir de este mensaje el hilo pasa a ser continuación de uno anterior. ​ 
Hola

En otro hilo vi la expresión 'a otra cosa mariposa'. Estoy empezando un hilo nuevo aquí ya que no quiero hacer una digresión de la intención del otro hilo, pero para daros el contexto, véase el post #12 (la última frase del texto) del hilo de abajo:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1216578&highlight=


¿Cómo se dice 'a otra cosa mariposa' en inglés?

Is it "that's another subject altogether"? "that's another story"? or something similar?

Cheers


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## aztlaniano

And on to the next thing. (With no more ado).


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## Alma Shofner

Something like "changing topics" too.

Regards


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## juandiego

I think it means something like _Let's move on_ or _move on_.


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## JeSuisSnob

juandiego said:


> I think it means something like _Let's move on_ or _move on_.


 
I concur.

PS: I think "A otra cosa*,* mariposa" is a vocative (it is adressing to "mariposa", like in "see you later, alligator").

Best regards.


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## Teena83

loladamore said:


> You can sometimes hear the expresssion *More tea, Vicar?* as a humorous reaction to an embarassing moment, in an attempt to change the subject, although that's almost undoubtedly very British, and I might be showing my age.


 
Igualmente, quiero aclarar, que por lo menos acá (Argentina), la expresión no se usa para salir de un momento embarazoso. Un ejemplo de los usos que le damos puede ser el siguiente:

-Me peleé con mi novia, la verdad es que estoy muy triste
-Sí, entiendo, pero no pienses más en eso, a otra cosa, mariposa! 

Creo que move on o moving on aplica bastante bien en este caso.


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## phroto_13

yeah it sounds like its just getting cute like 'peace out, cub scout' or 'whats cookin, good lookin'. the most common line that i can think of to indicate a need for a transition in the conversation (whether it be from embaressment, boredom or just the need to focus on the next topic at a business meeting would be indicated by the tone in which the person uses it) would be 'Moving on...' (if the speaker is uncomfortable it would seem more like this '..uh.. Moving on, how about those yankees?') maybe search youtube to see the different contexts in which 'us natives folk' use it


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## elirlandes

Se dice mucho - "Moving swiftly along..." lo que tiene sobre-entendido que la conversación de antes, se quiere dejar atrás - muchas veces por algúna verguenza que puede causar...

A veces, también se escucha "swoving miftly along...", un malapropismo sin sentido, pero rompe el hielo como suena ridículo.


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## juandiego

elirlandes said:


> A veces, también se escucha "swoving miftly along...", un malapropismo sin sentido, pero rompe el hielo como suena ridículo.


Let me correct you one little thing, elirlandés.
That English "as" or "since" is translated there by
_ya que
porque_

¿*malapropismo*? I have never heard it. ¿What's that?


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## Limeade

Hola a todos

Would you also use it in a situation where someone wanted to change your opinion about something and they were very persistant. You didn't want your opinion changed, whether it be politics, or religion or anything else . They kept going on and on. It became heated.... to stop it from going any further could you say or write...

 A otra cosa marisposa... or does it not apply in this situation??

gracias

limeade


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## juandiego

Limeade said:


> Hola a todos
> 
> Would you also use it in a situation where someone wanted to change your opinion about something and they were very persistant. You didn't want your opinion changed, whether it be politics, or religion or anything else . They kept going on and on. It became heated.... to stop it from going any further could you say or write...
> 
> A otra cosa marisposa... or does it not apply in this situation??
> 
> gracias
> 
> limeade


Yes, you can use it that way. I can't see why not, Limeade. The expression is not designed for a very specific situation but to express somewhat funnily that the time to move on has just come. Whether this situation is just funny or more or less serious, doesn't matter too much. Once said all that, you have to know the expression itself is quite colloquial, therefore I do not recommend to use it all the time but when the listeneres are people you know how they are going to take it.

Do not take me too seriously, I have just finished my nochebuena party and the degree of alcohol in my blood probably would mean a very important fine if I were driving any sort of vehicle.

Happy Christmas you and very bodi, hips.


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## Limeade

Gracias.... Feliz Navidad!


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## sna

Coincido totalmente con juandiego. Aunque diga que está de resaca, lo ha explicado muy bien. 
Es una frase que no se debe usar en ambientes formales. Incluso entre amigos queda un poco infantil.


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## nurifran

Hi all!!!
However, a otra cosa mariposa is used also to go on. The intention is to seem that one do not care about something of the past. For example, "mi novio me ha dejado" "pues a otra cosa, mariposa"  hehehe... It's to show THE OPPOSITE of feeling embarassed, it's to show that you don't care a lot about things, or you do in a good mood...


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## bertalaindia

You might consider "on another note."  As in "I have a lot of work to do.  On another note, Argentina won the soccer game."


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## ghuttemann

I use to transalte this kind of phrases.. I always think about this kind of phrases and try to give them a non-idiomatic translation because I like them more in other languages..

The translation that I gave to "a otra cosa mariposa" (including rhyme) is "fly fly butterfly"..

Hope this would be helpfull..


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## Porteño

loladamore said:


> You can sometimes hear the expresssion *More tea, Vicar?* as a humorous reaction to an embarassing moment, in an attempt to change the subject, although that's almost undoubtedly very British, and I might be showing my age.



I just love that one! Takes you back to old British comedy.


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## Heredianista

In some cases, "And that's that" works.


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## Ukrainito

"Let's flip the record"


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## Avispero

And thats's that
And that's all ther is to say about that


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## FRAGUA

Let's turn the page and start a new chapter.


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