# ¡Vaya boquita!



## sirgawain

This is the headline in a Madrid newspaper (_20 Minutos_) where several times each week the paper prints a surprising quotation spoken by someone in the news - Rajoy, for example.

How could you translate this phrase into English?  "What a mouth!" seems a bit insulting.  Isn't ¡Vaya boquita! more polite?  

Thanks for your help.


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## jasminasul

Quizá: pardon my French, language!

What kind of quotation?


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## Rodal

Could you tells us more about the content of this article?


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## sirgawain

Many kinds - Rajoy denying corruption in PP, Trump talking about Pittsburgh and Paris - usually some controversial statement of one kind or another.

Maybe something like "what a mouthful" ?


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## jasminasul

I don't like it for "vaya boquita". It's a jocose title and you want to convey this.
Are you translating the column or are you only trying to explain what it means?
Perhaps something like "shooting off their mouth", "watch your mouth", but I think "pardon my French" is better.


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## Elixabete

"Pardon my French" and "watch your mouth" are expressions we say when somebody uses vulgar language,  and this is not  the case .When Rajoy denies corruption in his party the problem is not the kind of language he uses but the things he says or the ideas behind what he says( usually very politely).
Maybe you  could borrow from The Smiths " bigmouth strikes again!" or something along the lines of " politicians/ them and their bigmouth!"( echoing " me and my bigmouth!").
"Shooting their mouth off" as Jasminasul suggests can work too.
Also " putting their foot in their mouth/ in it!", "Speaking out of tune" or " mincing words".


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## Rodal

How about "lip service".


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## Elixabete

Rodal said:


> How about "lip service".


That's different, it means " decir algo de boquilla".


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## sound shift

Elixabete said:


> Also " putting their foot in their mouth/ in it!", "Speaking out of tune" or " mincing words".


I think you mean "Speaking out of turn". Am I right? It's similar to the first one, but "mincing words" is different.

Still not entirely sure about the headline ¡Vaya boquita! I _believe _it could be rendered into BrE as
_What a nerve! _or
_Well, really!_


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## chileno

sirgawain said:


> This is the headline in a Madrid newspaper (_20 Minutos_) where several times each week the paper prints a surprising quotation spoken by someone in the news - Rajoy, for example.
> 
> How could you translate this phrase into English?  "What a mouth!" seems a bit insulting.  Isn't ¡Vaya boquita! more polite?
> 
> Thanks for your help.


Can you post the link to the article?


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## sirgawain

It's not an article - just a short quotation printed several times a week - without further comment.  From what people have suggested, I'd say "What nerve!" and "Well, Really" seem close.
Maybe "You don't say" would be reasonable also.


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## chileno

Hmmm, yes.

I would take it as "(Do) you eat with that mouth?" or "Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?"


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## FromPA

chileno said:


> Hmmm, yes.
> 
> I would take it as "(Do) you eat with that mouth?" or "Do you kiss your mom with that mouth?"


Only when commenting on something vulgar, dirty.


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## chileno

FromPA said:


> Only when commenting on something vulgar, dirty.



Correct. Now, you tell me, politically speaking, it isn't "dirty"? 

I mean, to term it lightly.


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## jilar

Esa expresión se usa para dar a entender que esa persona (la que habla) se atreve a decir cualquier cosa.
Por ejemplo, a alguien que sea políticamente correcto no le dirían tal expresión.
Pero, por ejemplo, alguien que despotrica contra los homosexuales, o cualquier otra cosa, es decir, alguien que se atreve a decir lo que piensa sobre algo, sea correcto o no, o aceptado por el resto de personas, es ahí cuando sale tal expresión "vaya boquita" = dice las cosas como las piensa, no se corta un pelo, es alguien atrevido, se atreve a decir las cosas como las piensa, independientemente de qué puedan pensar de él las demás personas.

Vaya boquita tiene X = Lo que sale por la boca de X (=lo que dice X) es atrevido, sorprendente.

Si Rajoy está negando la corrupción que hay en su partido, pues eso, "Vaya boquita tiene", es un atrevido de tomo y lomo.


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## sirgawain

Gracias Jilar - bien explicado.


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## jilar

Y entonces, ¿a qué puede corresponder en inglés?


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## jilar

Por cierto, también se usa cuando la persona dice muchos tacos.
Al final la idea original es la misma, lo que dice esa persona, genera una impresión al oyente, ya sea de sorpresa, de indignación, de malestar, ... Y la expresión se basa en que quien habla así debería ser consciente de lo que dice y por lo tanto de cómo será juzgado o interpretado, según hable, por los demás.

Si alguien habla diciendo cada dos por tres tacos, es obvio que a los demás nos da una impresión diferente que si no dijera palabrotas. En el primer caso nuestra impresión será la de que es un maleducado. Y de eso se debería él dar cuenta, si habla así y sigue hablando así, será que no le preocupa lo que piensan los demás de él, en fin, un valiente (por hablar como quiere o por decir lo que piensa)

Ojo, normalmente con sentido crítico.


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## OtroLencho

jilar said:


> Esa expresión se usa para dar a entender que esa persona (la que habla) se atreve a decir cualquier cosa.
> Por ejemplo, a alguien que sea políticamente correcto no le dirían tal expresión.


"No holds barred"?


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## jilar

OtroLencho said:


> "No holds barred"?


Ya veo el significado, yo creo que sí.
Pero mejor un nativo, si tú crees que esa expresión valdría como título donde citas a ciertas personas soltando/diciendo algunas perlas


> *perla* _nf_
> 
> _coloquial, figurado_ (comentario crítico) (_figurative: sarcastic_) pearl, jewel, gem _n_
> pearl of wisdom _n_
> Soltó unas cuantas perlas sobre su jefe que no dejaron a nadie indiferente.



Imaginemos, por ejemplo, frases de Hitler en su momento, cosas como:
-Los judíos no son personas, son animales.

O cosas por el estilo. Bueno, esa me la he inventado yo, imaginando que podría haberla dicho, conociendo su personalidad y los sucesos históricos, pero tiene algunas bien registradas, tales como:


> “Ante Dios y el mundo, el más fuerte tiene el derecho de hacer prevalecer su voluntad”.
> 
> “Debe procurar que sólo engendren hijos los individuos sanos, porque el hecho de que personas enfermas o incapaces pongan hijos en el mundo es una desgracia, en tanto que el abstenerse de hacerlo es un acto altamente honroso”


Todo eso en alemán, claro. 
10 frases famosas de Adolf Hitler

Pues ahí podríamos titularlo como "¡Vaya boquita!" = ¡vaya perlas/comentarios suelta esta persona!


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## chileno

No tener pelos en la boca. Like "without filter" but such mouth is kind of frowned upon.


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## FromPA

chileno said:


> Correct. Now, you tell me, politically speaking, it isn't "dirty"?
> 
> I mean, to term it lightly.



Political dirt is very different from having a dirty mouth.


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## OtroLencho

chileno said:


> No tener pelos en la boca.


Hmmm... viendo este hilo, "no tener pelos en la boca" ¿es igual a "Tener perlas en la boca"?


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## chileno

OtroLencho said:


> Hmmm... viendo este hilo, "no tener pelos en la boca" ¿es igual a "Tener perlas en la boca"?



Nunca he escuchado eso de tener perlas en la boca.


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## jilar

Por aquí la frase de chileno sería:
No tener pelos en la lengua.

Y las perlas, que yo sepa, no se tienen, sino que se sueltan (dando idea de que se liberan, obviamente por la boca, o sea soltar significa decir)


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## chileno

jilar said:


> Por aquí la frase de chileno sería:
> No tener pelos en la lengua.
> 
> Y las perlas, que yo sepa, no se tienen, sino que se sueltan (dando idea de que se liberan, obviamente por la boca, o sea soltar significa decir)



Ja! Y yo escribí "boca". Claro que es "lengua"

Ni me di cuenta.


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## LVRBC

The things that come out of your (or their) mouths!


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## chileno

LVRBC said:


> The things that come out of your (or their) mouths!


Correct, or like I said "without filter"


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## gato radioso

OtroLencho said:


> Hmmm... viendo este hilo, "no tener pelos en la boca" ¿es igual a "Tener perlas en la boca"?


No, the meaning changes:
1. No tener pelos en la lengua. To be frank when speaking.
2. Vaya boquita! To be annoyed by the nerve that somebody shows when he makes false,  nasty or vulgar statements.


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## chileno

gato radioso said:


> No, the meaning changes:
> 1. No tener pelos en la lengua. To be frank when speaking.
> 2. *Vaya boquita!* To be annoyed by the nerve that somebody shows when he makes false,  nasty or vulgar statements.



It could be but it isn't only relegated to false statements but also to true ones, not necessarily nasty or vulgar...don't you think so?


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## gato radioso

chileno said:


> It could be but it isn't only relegated to false statements but also to true ones, not necessarily nasty or vulgar...don't you think so?



Umm, I don´t really know. Maybe the usage of this form varies depending whether you speak american or european Spanish.
In Spain at least, the expression conveys an idea of annoyance, sarcasm. We say "boquita" (small cute mouth, just the type of mouth that a baby or a doll may have) when we think that it´s actually a dirty, horrendous or brutal person´s mouth. So, it has a sarcastic meaning.
I guess that you in America might use it with a different nuance.


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## SydLexia

The trick about the original is that the phrase can mean anything from "what a sweet little mouth" to "wash your mouth out with soap and water!"

For a newspaper column I'd suggest:

"By their own words..." 

If you Google the phrase you will see what springs to mind when you hear it.

syd


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## chileno

gato radioso said:


> Umm, I don´t really know. Maybe the usage of this form varies depending whether you speak american or european Spanish.
> In Spain at least, the expression conveys an idea of annoyance, sarcasm. We say "boquita" (small cute mouth, just the type of mouth that a baby or a doll may have) when we think that it´s actually a dirty, horrendous or brutal person´s mouth. So, it has a sarcastic meaning.
> I guess that you in America might use it with a different nuance.



In Chile it is also sarcastic..., the problem seems to stem from the usage of "no tener pelos en la lengua", which means to be frank but it can also fit with "vaya boquita"

See?


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## gato radioso

chileno said:


> In Chile it is also sarcastic..., the problem seems to stem from the usage of "no tener pelos en la lengua", which means to be frank but it can also fit with "vaya boquita"
> 
> See?


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