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planta bajocuboerta
dispositivo
Mar 14, 2011 19:40
13 yrs ago
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Spanish term

Duro de merca

Spanish to English Other Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Ya hace tiempo estoy trabajando en el guión de un película de ficción, a traducir a EN-UK.
Estoy trabajando junto a un colega inglés, pero si bien utilizamos "hard as nails" para decir que está duro, se pierde la connotación de droga que existe en español (además del juego de palabras) y estoy buscando la manera de transmitir esto.
Al menos en Uruguay y Argentina, en la jerga de drogas se utiliza "estar duro" para decir que alguien está tomando merca (inf. para cocaína). Tengan en cuenta que la mayoría de la gente que no consume drogas no conoce este significado.

Estoy buscando una frase que se use en Inglaterra para describir a alguien que está tomando cocaína, obviamente de manera informal.
Les copio el original y la traducción que tengo hasta ahora, con las limitaciones ya mencionadas.
Les agradezco muchísimo cualquier sugerencia y espero que esto no quede lost in translation...

DIEGO
Tenés que hacer más peso y menos
repeticiones. Para ganar más volumen.
Estás flaco, Juan. Estás hecho una
larva.

JUAN
No me sirve para la plasticidad.
Quedo todo duro.

DIEGO
Sí, duro de merca.

Diego se ríe.

DIEGO
Duro de merca.

VERSIÓN EN EN-UK

DIEGO
You have to do more weight and fewer repetitions.
To build up volume. You’re too thin, Juan. You look like a beanpole.

JUAN
That won’t help with elasticity. I’d be all stiff.

DIEGO
Yeah, hard as nails.

Diego laughs.

DIEGO
Hard as nails.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 Hard as (a) rock // rock hard
4 Stiff from blow
4 As hard as Charlie...
3 Hard as ice

Discussion

Emiliano Firpo (asker) Mar 15, 2011:
This might work, but the characters are talking about coke and rocks may only refer to crack, which does not help much actually. Thanks though...
Sandro Tomasi Mar 14, 2011:
There is no drug context; the context is a workout in the gym. Therefore, hard as a rock is a positive result from weight training. Moreover, my opinion is that most people in Argentina may not know the connotation of "estar duro," but they would know "merca."
Emiliano Firpo (asker) Mar 14, 2011:
Just remember that as I already mentioned many people wouldn't get the double meaning in Spanish if it wasn't that explicit. Therefore, hard as a rock might be an option, let´s see if something else comes up...
Thanks!
philgoddard Mar 14, 2011:
Do you think "elasticity" is the right word? Wouldn't "flexibility" be better?
philgoddard Mar 14, 2011:
"Hard as a rock" is a good approximation. You could insert a stage direction like "he makes quotation marks in the air with his fingers to emphasise the play on words".
Charles Davis Mar 14, 2011:
Wordalia Well, as a Brit I would say that I might get the point with "rock" (those gangsta rappers talking about their "bags of rocks"), but not with "iron". But crack is a very minor thing in the UK compared to ordinary cocaine. For cocaine, in my experience (and I don't want you to read anything into that), the most common UK slang term is "charlie", probably followed by "blow", but that doesn't help us much, as far as I can see.
Still, I reckon "hard as a rock" is a real option; nothing else remotely suitable occurs to me for the moment.
Josh Goldsmith Mar 14, 2011:
I've been tossing around the idea of using the word "rock" or "iron" for merca; the translation might be something like "hard as rock", "hard as a rock", "rock hard", or "hard as iron." ("Rock" and "iron" are both slang terms for crack cocaine.). I'm not sure whether most people would get the double entendre, though. What do you think of something along these lines? (And as an American, I'm not sure whether these terms are used in the UK...)

Proposed translations

+1
54 mins
Selected

Hard as (a) rock // rock hard

See discussion entries above.

I like Phil's idea of including "air quotes" in the stage directions. Thanks, Phil!
Peer comment(s):
agree Muriel Vasconcellos : I think it's clear without the air quotes - and I'd say 'hard as a rock', leaving 'rock' in the position of emphasis.
27 mins
Thanks, Muriel!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Not perfect, but it was a hard one indeed and of course it helped... Thanks!"
1 hr

Hard as ice

"ice" is also another slang term for cocaine

Here's a 'cracking' reference :) of drug slang.

http://parentingteens.about.com/cs/cocainecrack/l/blsldiccoc...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 horas (2011-03-14 21:40:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Theatre Royal and Drum Theatre Plymouth : Lyn Gardner reviews ...
10 Mar 2008 ... Lucinda Coxon's play is strange and beautiful - managing to be as **hard as ice** and ethereal at the same time. Robin Don's brilliant design ...
www.theatreroyal.com › Press › News › March 2008 - Cached

What's the hardest thing about Rollerblading?
5 posts - 5 authors - Last post: 11 Dec 2006
Concrete is almost **as hard as ice** when you fall over [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]. block6gooner an Arsenal blog ...
www.tyresmoke.net/.../83526-whats-hardest-thing-about-rolle... - Cached

Arsenal Mania - News - Scouting the Other Side: Bayern Munich, Leg 1
21 Feb 2005 ... In years gone by Bayern had a defence **as hard as ice**, but nowadays it is possible to breach them. Their defence can be inconsistent and ...
arsenal-mania.com/.../Scouting-the-Other-Side-Bayern-Munich-Leg-1.html - Cached
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

Stiff from blow

Following the script you've provided, it is clear that we're talking about coke: merca. If it wasn't for that, we would be clueless. So if we translate the phrase using "hard as a rock or ice," I don't think there's enough context in the TL to inform the audience that the characters are talking about coke. Therefore, we need to use a slang term for cocaine, the word stiff for its dual sense and compensate to make the phrase sound natural in the TL.

Possibilities: Stiff from blow/charlie/coke

Also, you may consider compensating to the point where you translate as the following:
Sí, duro de merca. > More like stiff from coke.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Lisa McCarthy : Hi Sandro - "ice" IS a slang term for cocaine. And I'm not sure coke is particularly known for making you 'stiff''
9 mins
Thanks for the comment, Lisa. I rely on the record I made.
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

As hard as Charlie...


Diego laughs

...as hard as Charlie Kray.

A slightly different angle. Charlie, as has already been established, is a classic UK term for coke. Charlie Kray was a notorious UK gangster who was involved in drugs and well hard:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/701959.stm

I am confident this would work for a UK film audience, accustomed as it is to Cockney gangster films about people like the Kray brothers:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/showbiz/article-16480912-top-l...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2011-03-14 23:07:29 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Note the specific connection to cocaine (though I don't believe he was the origin of the term Charlie for it) mentioned in the first reference:

In June 1997, he was found guilty of masterminding a £39m cocaine plot and jailed for 12 years.

He was convicted of offering to supply the drug to undercover police officers and also of supplying 2kg of the drug worth £63,500.

Peer comment(s):
neutral Sandro Tomasi : I like your option and explanation. But how would you translate Juan's previous phrase, "quedo todo duro," to tie it all in?
10 mins
Don't see the problem, myself - and that is another question.
Something went wrong...
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