# ponerse las pilas



## LAUCA

How woud you say this in English?

What I want to find is the equivalent idiomatic expression in English.

You use it when you want somebody to work on something because he/she dind't pay to much attentio to it.

I hope a somebody can help me with this. Thanks in advance,


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## LaReinita

Necesitarás brindarnos más contexto porque no estoy segura sobre lo que quieres.


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## lapachis8

Hola:
Se me ocurre esta expresión: get your act together

He didn´t work for three years, but got his act together and is now doing great.

Incluso puedes tener un registro aún menos formal cambiando act por shit.
Espero que recibas mejores respuestas. Saludos.


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## asteno

"Get your act together" is a great colloquial phrase that connotes laziness and an urgency to the issue!!
"He needs to get his act together with his college applications, or he'll never make it."

Another, but less collaquial option would be just plain old "hurry up".  
"He needs to hurry up with his college applications, or he'll never make it."


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## i heart queso

You could also say "you have to get on it... (a project, etc)"

You know that paper's due tomorrow, right? You better get on it!


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## Katanka

Ponerse las pilas se utiliza coloquialmente por lo que la que yo creo sería su traducción al inglés es la siguiente: Move your ass, sin ser despectivo que es lo que más importa.


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## zumac

Otro ejemplo:

Tienes que terminar esto para el viernes, asi que *ponte las pilas*.

"You have to finish this by Friday, so you'd better *buckle down*."

Saludos.


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## borgonyon

El mejor es "get your act together", no es tan cotorro como "ponte las pilas", pero es la misma idea...


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## bfd

A veces decimos "he pulled up his socks".  Creo que está bien en este caso.


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## aguacate

Get your act together is good, but it definitely doesn't have the same feel.  Ponerse las pilas seems more like "get moving" to me.  "Get your act together" is often used for someone involved in drugs, gangs, criminal lifestyle, or or who simply isn't making the best decisions in his life.


"You need to get moving on this project"

"Let's get moving and finish what we started"

"Get moving on your application"


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## LaReinita

You need to get the ball rolling.


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## mother earth

Very colloquial:  get your ass in gear!


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## fernandotorres

Hola:
El diccionario de Wordreference dice onerse las pilas=To get one's act together
Lo que quería  preguntar es que si esta expresión es bastante usada,es decir ,se entiende,al menos en España?
Gracias


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## mistertopo

En España no sabría decirte, pero en Argentina es muy común.


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## Argónida

Aquí también es muy común, sí.


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## Pax Commoditatis

Ponerse las pilas : esforzarse

Como dice MrTopo, acá se utiliza cotidianamente. Saludos.


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## Argónida

Para mí más que esforzarse significa espabilar, ponerse a la tarea, ponerse en funcionamiento...


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## fernandotorres

¡Gracias a todos! Lo que pasa es que aquí cuando hacemos el examen de español se espera que usemos el español de España, en lo posible.
¡Por eso, pregunté especialmente por España! De todos modos, gracias a todos.


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## Tezzaluna

En Costa Rica también se usa a diario...

TezzaMoon


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## Argónida

fernandotorres said:


> Gracias a todos!Lo que pasa es que aquí cuando hacemos el examen de español se espera que usemos el español de España,en lo posible.Por eso,pregunté especialmente por España!De todos modos ,gracias a todos!!!!


 
Supongo que lo sabes, pero por si acaso: Andalucía está en España, así que mi respuesta sí te vale para tu contexto


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## anthodocheio

¿Saben que yo lo usaba así y hasta hace unos días no me había dado cuenta de qué está diciendo literalmente...?

Wow!


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## Moritzchen

También es de uso común en México.


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## jayp

Hey guys,

Just for the record: *Ponerse las pilas = (to) shape up.

*Good luck!


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## asteno

Pues dependiendo de la persona con la que se está hablando podría ser ofensivo decir "move your ass" o algo por el estilo, para aclarar.

Pero, pues sí, se usa.


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## mal67

I like _to get moving_, as suggested by aguacate above.  Also: _to get a move on_.


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## mullet57

Another phrase could be “Get off your ass”.

You need to get off your ass and get this job done.


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## zumac

Ponerse las pilas may not always be about getting things done.
It could also mean to "smarten up."

Saludos.


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## Forero

zumac said:


> Ponerse las pilas may not always be about getting things done.
> It could also mean to "smarten up."
> 
> Saludos.


Then that's "shape up" or "get your act together", or as my father used to say, "straighten up and fly right".


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## danb99

In the song 'Ponte pila' Los Adolescentes use it to mean 'wise up'. The guy is taking advantage of the girl, like he did with her friends, so someone is telling her 'Ponte Pila' or 'Wise up'. [...]


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## onbalance

"Ponerse las pilas" no se usa en el sentido de "to wise up" en las telenovelas mexicanas. Este sentido podría ser exclusivamente venezolano.


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## Tom302

from my U.S. point of view, a summary for the hispanohablantes:
--get a move on-- Informal*--*get one's act together-- Informal
--get one's ass in gear--very informal, a little vulgar
--pull up one's socks--never hear that one here
--get the ball rolling--uncommon but used

Muchas gracias por todos los comentarios


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## stretch

Around here, we also say "get on the ball."
Cheers!


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## Ferrol

Get cracking!


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## sound shift

Around here we say "Get your finger out." It looks vulgar but it's heard quite a lot; even Prince Charles used it in public.


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## SydLexia

sound shift said:


> Around here we say "Get your finger out." It looks vulgar but it's heard quite a lot; even Prince Charles used it in public.



I'd say "Pull your finger out" is more common. It's definitely vulgar in origin and probably services slang but time has softened its effect - like joystick, for example.

You can even search for "time to extract the digit" and you'll find a humorous variation.

A friend of mine once started telling a story, "There I was walking down the street, thumb in bum and mind in neutral, when...."

syd


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## sound shift

Yes, on reflection, "pull" is more common.


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## Ferrol

SydLexia said:


> I'd say "Pull your finger out" is more common. It's definitely vulgar in origin and probably services slang but time has softened its effect - like joystick, for example.
> 
> You can even search for "time to extract the digit" and you'll find a humorous variation.
> 
> A friend of mine once started telling a story, "There I was walking down the street, thumb in bum and mind in neutral, when...."
> 
> syd


Joystick!.Yet another word to be used with caution, just like "manubrio"


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