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alafrontera
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Chimera ?
My girlfriend (de Argentina) uses this word a lot, I can't find it in a dictionary and it doesn't translate online. In context it seems to mean
"path" or "journey". Something like that anyway. Any help ?
low lattitude attitude
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DENNIS
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chimera [kai-mia-ra]
sustantivo1. Quimera, monstruo fabuloso.
2. Quimera, ilusión, imaginación vana.
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LOSARIPES
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Aqui va otra definicion... basicamente lo mismo...
quimera
1. f. Monstruo imaginario con cabeza de león,cuerpo de cabra y cola de dragón.
2. Ilusión,fantasía que se cree posible,pero que no lo es:
en lugar de actuar,se pierde en quimeras.
Aripes
God bless America
and Baja tambien
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alafrontera
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Thanks, this is why I asked here and didn't ask her. It was used in a negative way during an arguement, as if my "path" is:
"Illusion, fantasy is believed possible, but it is not:
instead of acting, is lost in illusions."
and...
"Chimera: illusion, vain imagination."
This is the problem with "international affairs", you don't know when you should be offended (peeed off) 
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alafrontera
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Ahh... with the alternate spelling quimera we have "worry, unfounded suspicion".
Not what she meant but interesting just the same.
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Osprey
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Chimera
Here's your demon.
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Osprey
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Evil devil - sometimes invisible
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Gypsy Jan
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Mood: Depends on which way the wind is blowing
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This is the Classical Referance
Chimera - "Homer's brief description in the Iliad is the earliest surviving literary reference: ...a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted
and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire."
If you ask me, which you are, I think she means that you say something and then it turn around and deny it, while also blaming someone else for
perverting the meaning.
A Chimera sets up a lose-lose scenario.
Perhaps you need to talk honestly to your lady.
[Edited on 2-21-2010 by Gypsy Jan]
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
—Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
—Julius Caesar
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Tano
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The word is "quimera," and it became rather popular in Spanish-speaking countries at the time Chaplin’s movie "The Gold Rush" was released and was
translated as "La Quimera de Oro," which sort of gives you an idea of what the word means in popular parlance: a desirable but elusive goal. What I
find interesting is that a person would "use this word a lot," since today it is not that common and is considered somewhat pedantic.
I would recommend that every time your girlfriend uses the word, you just reply, "Calláte, boluda." (In this case, the "ll" is pronounced like the "g"
in the word "genre.") Good luck.
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Tano
"Calláte, boluda." (In this case, the "ll" is pronounced like the "g" in the word "genre.") Good luck. |
"Shut up, Stupid." Yeah...that'll go a long way. 
I've heard "Callate" a million times and never heard the LL pronounced like anything other than Y. In which country are you refering to?
[Edited on 2-21-2010 by DENNIS]
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Natalie Ann
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Coupla years back I took Spanish lessons in Ensenada from a teacher originally from Mexico City. She was all over my pronunciation of "ll"....
insisted that the correct pronunciation was a "j" as in pajamas. Retrained myself to say it that way - my friend Magda was proud of me. Went back to
the Sur where folks laughed themselves silly over my 'new' language.
nena
[Edited on 2-21-2010 by Natalie Ann]
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
.....Oscar Wilde
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by lencho
"ll" is more fricative in a lot of the Spanish-speaking world, including Argentina whence hails the lady in question... ;>
--Larry |
Thanks, Larry. That clears up another question which has been on my mind lately. On the PGA tour, there's a young golfer from Argentina named
Villegas and the commentators pronounce the LL as ZH. I couldn't understand why...till now.
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arrowhead
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quimera = pipedream
No soy por ni contra apatía.
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alafrontera
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Yes my Argentinian lady does pronounce the ll as the G in genre, she is really messing with my Spanish  Her friend from Uraguay does the same but not the friend from Colombia.
She is definately using the word to mean fantasy/ illusion/ pipedream; she doesn't like it when I talk of retirement in Mexico, Central America or
Puerto Rico. That is why in context I thought it meant path or journey. She wants me to stay here 
Actually I'm learning many new words and sometimes it's funny. She uses the word "choclo" for corn-on-the-cob. Apparently in Mexico that is a type
of shoe, like a loafer 
[Edited on 2-22-2010 by alafrontera]
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alafrontera
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Just to expand a bit, it is really interesting how words differ so much from country to country. We take Tango Argentino lessons and this is why we
know so many South Americans. It amazes me how almost every night there are discussions about words, it's a wonder they can communicate at all. They
constantly look at each other with uncertain curiosity
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Martyman
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I believe there is also a fish called a chimera
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Tano
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Just to tie up some loose ends on the subject for those interested in the Spanish language: Dennis must have heard the word “cállate” many times, but
not “callate,” which I wrote as “calláte” just to emphasize the stress, but the accent is not actually written. If you just read/write “callate,” the
stress falls on the second “a,” a typical Argentinian/Uruguayan way to pronounce it.
The expression “Callate, boludo/a,” sounds to somebody from that region like “Shut up, dummy” did to Lamont Sanford when Fred disagreed with him and
told him so.
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Martyman
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Fred also said "Aunt Ester...you're so ugly, they put yer face in dough and made gorilla cookies"
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DENNIS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Tano
Dennis must have heard the word “cállate” many times |
In fact, I have. Most often here on Nomad.
I sense your frustration trying to explain the nuances of language. In some cases, you just have to be there.
Thanks.
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Skipjack Joe
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Martyman
I believe there is also a fish called a chimera
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Yes, the ratfish. I caught 2 off catalina on one trip at about 4AM several years ago. This led me to subsequently do a term paper on the animal. Their
mouth structure indicate that they are an early evolutionary offshoot from our bony fishes that currently dominate the oceans.
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