Chapter 7

=19.=--1. =Gracias á que=, _thank goodness that_; =á= is retained before the substantival clause as a reminiscence of its use in expressions like _gracias á Dios_, where it precedes a substantive.

2. =Yo no puedo más=, see voc. under _poder_.

16. =Buenas ganas de conversación tengo yo ahora=, _I feel a lot like talking, I must say_.

20. =Será de los nervios=, _it is probably caused by your nerves_; the future may be used in place of the present, and the conditional in place of the imperfect, to express conjecture or probability.

23. =ya=; for the expletive use of _ya_, see voc.

=20.=--1. =¡Qué me he de reir...!= _I, laugh? I should say not!_

6. =No me retientan ni por casualidad=, _they show no signs of attacking me again; not in the least_.

23. =se me va calmando=; _se_ is the object of _calmar_; _me_ is the dative of advantage.

=21.=--25. =¡pero si tiene usted ahí la cueva de Montesinos!= _why, you have a regular cave of Montesinos in there!_ (i.e., the cavity); =cueva de Montesinos=, famous through Cervantes' reference to it in _Don Quijote_ (Part II, chapters 22-23), lies about three miles from the village of _Osa de Montiel_ in La Mancha. Being about 40 yards wide and 60 deep, we may assume that the impression made upon Rocío by the cavity in the Caballero's tooth was considerable.

=22.=--1. =Vaya si es graciosa la mujer=, _my, but this woman is funny!_

5. =Para valiente cosa le serviría yo á usted=, _precious little good I'd be to you_.

8. =perdió usted á su esposo... No lo perdí yo; se perdió él=, _you lost your husband... I didn't destroy_ (_or lose_) _him; he destroyed himself_. A play on the two meanings of _perder_.

15. =Tengo aquí un plato de calamares=, _I have here_ (_within my breast_) _a dish of squids_; the squid, or calamary, emits a black fluid, and when served as a food is known in Spanish as _calamares en su tinta_, "squids in their ink." Rocío uses this essentially Andalusian exaggeration to signify that her heart is in mourning.

=23.=--5. =Servidora=, _I, Sir_; a briefer form of _servidora de usted_, "your servant," a polite substitute for "I."

22. =De los más chiquirrititos. De aquéllos, de los de dos pesetas=, _the very smallest you have. Those_ (_you know_) _that_ (_you sell_) _for two pesetas_; =chiquirrititos=, combinations of diminutive terminations with a cumulative value are common in Spanish, especially in conversation. Starting with _chico_, the gradations of smallness are expressed by _chiquito_, _chiquitito_, and _chiquirritito_.

=24.=--5. =¿Dónde habrá papeles?= _I wonder where there is any paper_; see note =19=, 20.

7. =y ponerme ahora á que me den un par de tirones=, _and to allow myself now_ (i.e., after the pain has gone) _to be given a couple of yanks_; supply as a conclusion something like "would be quite foolish."

10. =Vaya, que me largo=, _there now, I'm off_.

20. =De parte de usted=, "on your behalf," i.e., _I'll be glad to do so for you_.

22. =como si lo viera: está...=, _I am as sure as can be_ (literally, "as if I saw it") (_that_) _he is..._

=25.=--13. =Habrá=, see note =19=, 20.

=26.=--2. =á que=, _in order that_; see note =3=, 18.--=la=; _le_ instead of _la_ would be expected as indirect object; see note =2=, 10.

11. =¿Es bueno, eh?= _it's a pretty sight, isn't it?_

15. =media estocada=, in bull-fighting parlance, the _media estocada_ is a thrust made by the matador that causes only half the blade to enter the bull. Here Atilano uses the expression to mean that no ordinary _pinchazo_ will suffice to cure such an abscess as Isidra's, which must be opened by the sort of thrust that will kill a bull.

28. =¡Qué sé yo, qué sé yo!= _I'm not so sure._

29. =calarlo=, see voc. under _calar_, connect _calar_ with _melón_ in _¡Si esto es un melón!_ for the play on words.

=27.=--12. =dejarlo=; the infinitive may be used as an imperative in sudden exclamations or brief commands.

=28.=--9. =Ni que robara uno el dinero=, _why, if one actually stole money_ (i.e., "get it easily, as by stealing"); supply _he wouldn't ask such a price as that_.

16. =si no quiere que le iguale los dos carrillos=, _if you don't want me to make your two cheeks look alike_ (i.e., by cuffing the other cheek and making it swell).

19. =¡Ni en Sierra Morena!= trans. freely, _even the bandits in the Sierra Morena Mountains wouldn't rob one to that extent_.

=29.=--2. =Venga=, see voc. under _venir_.

15. =no es de los que=, _is not of the sort that_.

=30.=--11. =¡estoy perdido!... ¡Es verdad, perdido!= _I'm in a fearful condition_ (i.e., "my teeth are, etc.")... _That's right, you are done for_ ("when I get hold of you"): a pun on the two meanings of _perdido_.

30. =Déjese de tratamientos=, _drop your ceremony_ (i.e., the use of _usía_); see voc. under _usía_ and _tratamiento_.

=31.=--2. =tranquilito=, _nice and quiet_; the diminutive gives a soothing and persuasive tone to the suggestion.

3. =se aguanta=; notice the imperative force here of the present indicative.

30. =hija del respeto=, _due to respect_.

=32.=--12. =por si acaso=, _to make sure_; an elliptical expression, the rest of which must be inferred in each case from the context. Here the complete idea could be _por si acaso tirara yo demasiado_, "in case I might pull too hard."

13. =Ya estoy, ya= (supply =agarrado=), _I am_ (_holding on_).

=33.=--4. =unas=, need not be translated; _unos, -as_ is more indefinite than _algunos_, being frequently equivalent to the French partitive construction with _des_, etc.; it is also equivalent to the English "a pair of," "a couple of."

7. =Nada, nada, como que retiro mi promesa=, _why, I should say you did have a clever hand, and such a clever one that I withdraw my promise_; this use of _nada, nada_ cannot be translated literally into English; its general sense is "there's no getting out of it" or "there is no help for it." Peláez thinks Atilano such a skilful dentist that it is quite unnecessary to get him a government job.

30. =lo ponga de su bolsillo=, _you should make it up out of your own pocket_.

=34.=--7. =yo te pondré seis velas=, _I shall offer up to thee six candles_; it is a Catholic custom to make an offering of candles for some special intention, or by way of petition or thanks-giving. In many churches candles are to be found unlighted near the altar. The offering is a coin dropped in a box near by, after a candle has been lighted.

14. =Eso ha sido del cabello de ángel=, _the sweets caused it_ (i.e., the tooth-ache); see voc. under _cabello_.

25. =auxiliar tercero de la clase de quintos=, _a third assistant civil employé of the government of the fifth grade_; the _auxiliar tercero de la clase de quintos_ (the position no longer exists) was an office-holder drawing a salary of three thousand reales (about $150) annually, and consequently was one of the humblest clerks in the Spanish bureaucracy. The author is evidently trying to emphasize the abject category of Atilano, the _cesante_, and to ridicule a condition of affairs which maintains such poorly paid positions.

=37.=--2. =Ande usted con él=, _you go ahead and tackle him_.

18. =¡Los innumerables mártires de Zaragoza!= Atilano compares Francisco's victims to the ill-fated defenders of the city of Saragossa in the famous siege of 1808-1809, when the city held out against the French from the 15th of June, 1808, to the 19th of February, 1809. More than half of the inhabitants (about 50,000) perished in the defence.

LAS SOLTERONAS

=41.=--Stage direction, =de junto á=, _near_; _de_ governs the clause _junto á la chimenea_ and combined with it forms an adjectival clause modifying _butacas_.

3. =siempre te llevas más de lo que dejas=, _you keep taking away more than you leave_.

=42.=--2. =ejercicios=, see voc. for the play on meanings.

=43.=--13. =Te=, see note =15=, 22.

19. =Lo dicho=, _it's just as I said_.

24. =á qué viene=, see voc. under _venir_.

26. =¡Lo que son las mujeres!= _what a queer lot women are!_

27. =Que= may be explained as depending upon some verbal expression like _dices_, understood.

29. =de que sus novios hayan dado media vuelta=, _that their suitors have turned their backs on them_ (i.e., have spurned them).

31. =Puede que sí=, see voc. under _poder_.

=44.=--7. =que=, trans. by _if_, or _in case_.

12. =á no ser que=, _unless_.

18. =Estoy poniendo los puntos sobre las íes.--Di más bien: los pies sobre los callos=, trans. freely, _I am speaking to the point.--You mean that you are making matters worse_ (Sandalia also implies that he is treading on corns by assuming his daughters to have them).

=46.=--10. =Ni tú á la tuya=, _nor do you resemble yours_ (i.e., your mother).

25. =Lo que es hoy=, elliptical for _por lo que es hoy_, "as far as to-day is concerned"; trans. _to-day, at least_.

=47.=--2. =¡Pues bonitos son los hombres!= _a fine lot men are, I must say!_--=¡Qué han de ser bonitos!= _pretty? I should say not!_ A play on the two meanings of _bonito_, "fine" (ironical), and "pretty."

10. =señor don Procopio Canchalagua=; _don_ precedes the baptismal name, e.g., _don Procopio_; _señor_, the family name, e.g., _señor Canchalagua_. The use of the double form _señor don_, before either the baptismal name or the baptismal and family name combined, conveys an idea of greater respect than the use of either form singly. The possible combinations are: _don Procopio_, _señor don Procopio_, _señor Canchalagua_, _señor don Procopio Canchalagua_; but not _don Canchalagua_, or _señor Procopio_. This last form is used by the illiterate, as when doña Paula refers to "señor de Rodrigo en la horca," _Los Pantalones_, =82=, 22.

22. =¿Su gracia de usted?--Ninguna=, _what is your name?--I haven't any_; Casta uses _gracia_ in the sense of "name"; Claudio stupidly takes it to mean "wit," and tells her he hasn't any.

=48.=--1. =unos=, do not translate; cf. French, _des yeux_.

=49.=--6. =¡Ya; vamos!= _yes, yes, of course_.

19. =Pues nada=, _no trouble at all_.

24. =¡Que si lo sé!= _do I know it!_

25. =Calle usted=, _would you believe it, why..._; _calle usted_ prepares and enhances the following assertion.

30. =tortícolis=; there seems to be considerable confusion as to the accentuation and gender of the word. The Dictionary of the Spanish Academy gives the gender as masculine (from Lat. _tortum collum_) and places the accent on the penultimate syllable. The word is doubtless properly masculine, but through the analogy of feminines ending in unaccented _is_ (cf. _tisis_, _crisis_, etc.), it is erroneously made feminine, especially in the plural.

31. =¡Digo, digo!= _I declare!_

=50.=--9. =¡Así fuese mañana!= _would that it were to-morrow_.

27. =Posada del Peine=, a hotel in the calle de Postas in Madrid, patronized extensively by Spaniards from the country to whom it represents all that is best in urban luxury and refinement. The Madrileños themselves poke fun at the hotel as a third-rate hostelry and a gathering-place for provincials.

=51.=--2. =¡No faltaba más!= _the very idea!_; see also line 21, where it means _why, of course_.

=52.=--1. =¡Es que son guapas!= _they really are good-looking_.

11. =Por=, _referring to_.

28. =¡Miren la de las convicciones arraigadas!= _just see the woman with the deep-rooted convictions!_ Pura is referring sarcastically to Casta's remark on page 47, lines 4 and 5, where she declares her contempt for man.

=53.=--7. =se está=; _se_ is untranslatable; see note =4=, 16.

10. =Á ver, niñas, corriendo, decid...=, _come now, girls, hurry and tell_.

13. =almorzado=; the _almuerzo_, frequently confused with our breakfast or first meal of the day, is a substantial meal eaten near midday. The Spanish breakfast is the _desayuno_, a light meal taken early, and consisting usually of coffee or chocolate and bread.

26. =Pues que no te lo parezca; tenlo por seguro. Mejor. Éstos caen en seguida=, _there is no thinking at all in the matter, it is an absolute fact. So much the better_ (_that he is stupid_), _for these_ (_stupid men_) _fall into the trap right off_.

=54.=--3. =arrimo... sardina=, see voc. under _arrimar_.

16. =Matalavieja=, i.e., _mata-la-vieja_; Procopio implies facetiously that the Claudio will "kill (i.e., help him get rid of) the old maid"; that is, he will take one of the daughters off his (Procopio's) hands.

=55.=--5. =¡ni que las llevaras á cuestas!= trans. freely, _not even though you were actually carrying them on your back could you make such a fuss about it._

7. =¡... cuándo nos veremos en otra!= i.e., _when we'll get another chance_ (to marry them); _otra_ is the indefinite feminine pronoun.

12. =por su casa=, _through his family estate_.

19. =comiéndose=; distinguish from the reflexive construction of intransitive verbs (note =4=, 16). Here _se_ is indirect object, or dative of advantage, and conveys the idea of "eating up."

=56.=--7. =¡Vamos, que estoy animadete!= _the fact is, I'm feeling a bit lively._

31. =Está usted en su casa=, a play on the literal and figurative meaning of the expression. In Spanish you courteously inform your guest, to make him feel at home, that he is in _his own house_. Claudio, fresh from the country, overworks the expression. He wants to make Procopio feel "at home," which is not difficult under the circumstances.

=57.=--9. =cuando pasé por Toro=; if the student will bear in mind that _toro_ means "bull" and that Toro is a town in the province of Zamora; that =pasar por= means "to pass through" and "to pass as," he will be able to enjoy this seventh-rate pun.

26. =no es maleja=, _is not so bad_.

=59.=--4. =Soy lo más topo=, _how stupid I am!_

6. =Esto ya es otra cosa=, _this is quite different._

9. =¿En cuál?=; supply _medio_.

20. =Pues si tiene usted unos ojos=, _why, you have such (lovely) eyes_; some word or phrase qualifying _ojos_ must be understood to explain the intensive force of _unos_, e.g., _ojos incomparables_. The Spaniard, of course, does not feel the incompleteness of the construction; to him _unos_ itself conveys the idea of "admirable," "exquisite," etc.

28. =Vaya=, see voc. under _ir_.

=60.=--10. =Ésa=; _ése, -a_, frequently implies contempt.

12. =No sale de ahí=, _she is always at the same old tune._

18. =caigo en que=, _I understand._

23. =¿Que es guapa?= i.e., _¿dice usted que es guapa?_

=61.=--6. =¡Esto va de veras!= see voc. under _veras_.

=62.=--2. =Pues con no haber venido=, an elliptical expression meaning _si no hubieses venido no habrías interrumpido_; trans. freely, _why did you come, then?_

26. =No te has dado poca prisa... Por si acaso=, _you were not at all slow about it_ (i.e., making eyes at Claudio). _Yes, because of what might have happened_ (i.e., "You might have got ahead of me").

=63.=--2. =primer=; _bueno_, _malo_, _primero_, _tercero_, _uno_, _alguno_, _ninguno_ lose their final _o_ when they stand as attributes before a noun in the masculine singular. The same law is applicable in familiar speech before nouns in the feminine singular, especially before _a_ and _ha_.

5. =Empezaste á hacerle tanta monada=, _you began to cast such sheeps' eyes on him_; =tanta monada=, singular nouns accompanied by words denoting quantity, such as _mucho_, _tanto_, _cuanto_, are used as emphatic plurals.

7. =Si eres el perro del hortelano=, _why, you are just like the dog in the manger._

11. =Conocemos el personal=, _we know with whom we are dealing._

20. =perdone, hermana=, _I can do nothing for you, sister_; it is customary to say to beggars, when refusing their request for alms,--_perdone hermano (hermana)_. Pura implies that she will give Casta no opportunity in the affair with Claudio; at the same time her manner of denial (as to a beggar) expresses her contemptuous attitude towards her sister.

=64.=--17. =que= performs here the double function of "than" and "that"; literally, _there is no other remedy than that he should choose_.--=á quien Dios se lo dé=, the first part of the saying _á quien Dios se lo dé, San Pedro se lo bendiga_, a saying which expresses the idea that we should be content with the decrees of fate, whether they are to our advantage or not. Here Procopio implies that he will be well pleased if Claudio chooses either one of his daughters.

=65.=--20. =¿Cómo que quién piensa en eso?= _what do you mean by saying "who is thinking of that"?_

24. =¿Que no?= _you are not, eh?_; _¿que no?_ = _¿dice usted que no?_

=66.=--11. =eso se dice=, _it is customary to say_ (_that one is married_).

24. =Con decirle á usted que allí tienen gran partido...=, _I have only to tell you that the... are great favorites there_, see note =11=, 20.

LOS PANTALONES

=71.=--7. =señores=, see voc. under _señor_.

9. =Por vida de la política=, see voc. under _vida_.

=72.=--14. =daba=, see note =13=, 22.

26. =á quien menos le luzca el trabajo=, _whose work shows to less advantage_.

=73.=--7. =antigüedad=, _length of service_.

18. =Estoy poniendo en limpio una minuta=, _I am making a fair copy of a memorandum._

19. =¡Poniendo en limpio!= _cleaning up, are you?_ Paula takes the expression literally.

=74.=--3. =para lo poco que tú servías=, _how little you are good for._

4. =me caso=, the present, instead of the conditional perfect _me habría casado_, imparts emphasis and certainty to the statement.

6. =consiento= = =habría consentido=; see previous note.

13. =¡Adiós! ¡El diluvio!= _It's no use! Now there will be a storm about my ears!_

16. =Somos nobles por los cuatro costados=, _we are of noble birth on both our father's and our mother's side._

21. =nos han envuelto en ricos pañales=, literally, "we were wrapped in rich swaddling-clothes," trans., _we were born in opulence._

=75.=--4. =¡Por vida de mi debilidad de carácter!= _the deuce take this weak character of mine!_

10. =pero de habérselo advertido= = _si se lo hubiese advertido._

15. =mételo en algo=; =haz que sea algo=, _get him started in something_; _make something out of him._

22. =Pues señor=, _just think!_; "well, sir" is occasionally used in English in this sense.

24. =¡Otro que bien baila!= _another of the same stamp_; this expression implies that one person resembles another in some defect or quality not praiseworthy. Here Paula contemptuously compares Felipe, Luisa's lover, to Juan, Carmen's husband. Colloquially we might say "another bad egg."

=76.=--4. =herrar ó quitar el banco=, _either bring the matter to a head or drop it_, i.e., "marry Felipe or give him up."

5. =Tú ya no estás para=, _you are not in a condition to_.

10. =Si es que ésta no sabe=, _it's simply this_; _this girl doesn't know_ (_how to go about it_).

16. =¿Cómo que se escame?= _what do you mean by saying that he may take offence?_

19. =Metternich=, an Austrian statesman, 1773-1859.

22. =Metternach=, unknown except to Paula.

23. =la solfa da poca grasa á los garbanzos=, literally, "music gives the chick-peas but little fat"; trans. freely, _music provides but poor fare_, i.e., it is not easy for a musician to support a family.

25. =Más cuenta te hubiese tenido... de casa de las de González=, _it would have been more profitable for you to have taken notice of the lieutenant_ (_whom you met_) _at the house of the González women_.

=77.=--5. =Y eso que se han pasado=, _and that, in spite of the fact that they have spent_.

15. =cuya=; _cuyo, -a_ (Latin _cujus_), is a relative possessive adjective. Being essentially a genitive its only equivalents in Spanish are _de quien_, _del cual_ (English, "whose," "of which," "of whom"). It is incorrectly used here in the sense of _el_ (_la_) _cual_. This misuse of _cuyo_ is not uncommon.

20. =Serán otros González=, _it may be another González family_.

23. =Ellos serán, los muy...=, _it's probably they, the_ (understand some disparaging epithet like "upstart").

=78.=--1. =Por allá dentro=, _somewhere inside there_.

15. =¡Estás fresco!= see voc. under _fresco_.

=79.=--23. =con la frecuencia que= = _la frecuencia con que_.

24. =lo próxima que está=, _how near... is_; notice that in this construction the adjective does not agree with the neuter _lo_, but with the subject of the conjunctive clause.

26. =Y eso de que=, see voc. under _ése_.

=80.=--13. =como á mí no me duelen prendas=, _as I don't care at all_; cf. the expression _al buen pagador no le duelen prendas_.

=81.=--11. =Usted lo dirá=, _that is for you to say_.

17. =si por nosotras=, _indeed, for all we care_.

=82.=--1. =¡Caracoles, en la que me he metido!= _Great Scott, what a mess I have got into!_ The feminine object pronouns _la_, _las_ may be used with the force of an indefinite pronoun; some word suitable to the context may be inferred; here, perhaps, _la_ (_situación_).

10. =¿Qué sería de vosotras...?= see voc. under _ser_.

22. =se dan... señor de Rodrigo en la horca=, _put on more airs than the proudest person that ever lived_; this is Paula's illiterate paraphrase of the expression _tener más humos que don Rodrigo en la horca_, "to be prouder than don Roderick on the gallows." The saying may have arisen in connection with the hanging of some noble who kept up his pride to the end by insisting that he be hanged with a silken cord, as the law allowed, instead of by the plebeian rope. Notice Paula's incorrect use of _señor_ (see note =47=, 10) and of _de_ before the baptismal name.

=84.=--3. =rogarles no falten á esta su casa=, trans. freely, _to beg you to be sure to honor us with your presence_: =rogarles= (=que=) =no falten=, _que_ may be omitted after verbs denoting request, permission, or entreaty; =á esta su casa=, see =56=, 31.

8. =¡Qué hemos de negarnos, hombre!= _I should say we are not going to refuse!_

20. =ahora es todo un...=, _now he is a real_ (understand some word like _potentado_).

22. =Nada, nada=, _it's settled_.

29. =que=; supply some expression like _es cierto_, or _es claro_, upon which the clause introduced by _que_ may depend.

=85.=--5. =está á componer=, _is being repaired_.

6. =nada=, _no trouble about that_.

15. =Ese color= (i.e., _color lila_), =sin pedirlo, me lo dan á mí...=, _I sha'n't have to ask them to give me that color_, i.e., they will put me down as a dolt, of their own accord; _lila_, "lilac," is used colloquially to mean "dolt," "fool."

21. =dejada de la mano de Dios=, literally, "abandoned by God's hand"; trans., _past recall_, or _a hopeless case_.

22. =¡Dale con mi madre!= _you are always harping on the subject of my mother!_ or _let my mother alone, won't you?_

=86.=--11. =me preguntaron... si el difunto era mayor. Como que tiene cola el tal pantalón=, _they asked me whether the deceased was a bigger man than I, since the trousers in question have a train_ (they drag so on the ground); the question is sometimes facetiously put to one wearing a badly fitting garment, _si el difunto era mayor_, implying that the garment is second-hand.

15. =¿Y vas tú á presumir acaso?= _you don't mean you are going to put on airs?_

20. =¿Cómo se entiende?= _why, what do you mean?_ (implies that the speaker is displeased at a previous statement).

=87.=--15. =Si es un momento=, _why, it will only take a moment_.

22. =Debe de estar=, _is probably_; _debe de_ expresses the probable fulfilment of the action of the infinitive: governing the infinitive directly it denotes obligation, i.e., _debe estar en su cuarto_, "it is her obligation to be in her room." This distinction, however, is more theoretical than practical. In current speech, Spaniards use the two constructions interchangeably.

=88.=--6. =señor don Juan=, see =47=, 10.

16. =que le sobra á este pantalón=, _of which these trousers have enough and to spare_.

28. =que va usted bien=, trans. freely, _and you will make no mistake_.

=89.=--12. =nos la podemos repartir á temporadas=, literally, "we can share her by periods"; trans., _we can take turns at having her_.

21. =Éste se la ha olido=, _this fellow has smelled a rat_; for _la_, see note =82=, 1.