Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
exponer menos un brazo
English translation:
not put your strength and intelligence at risk more than (is) necessary
Added to glossary by
Ruth Ramsey
Jan 2, 2016 21:54
8 yrs ago
Spanish term
United Kingdom
exponer menos un brazo
Spanish to English
Art/Literary
Military / Defense
Military Text Cuba)
Military Text (Cuba)
This is talking about Major Agramonte in a letter from his wife.
To begin with I thought "brazo" was meant literally but now I'm not so sure.
Does it basically mean that he shouldn't expose either his body or his intellect to unnecessary danger?
Thanks very much in advance.
"Además, por interés de Cuba debes ser más prudente, exponer menos un brazo y una inteligencia de que necesita tanto. ¡Por Cuba, Ignacio mío, por ella tambíen te ruego que te cuides más!"
http://www.translatorscafe.com/tcterms/en-GB/thQuestion.aspx...
This is talking about Major Agramonte in a letter from his wife.
To begin with I thought "brazo" was meant literally but now I'm not so sure.
Does it basically mean that he shouldn't expose either his body or his intellect to unnecessary danger?
Thanks very much in advance.
"Además, por interés de Cuba debes ser más prudente, exponer menos un brazo y una inteligencia de que necesita tanto. ¡Por Cuba, Ignacio mío, por ella tambíen te ruego que te cuides más!"
http://www.translatorscafe.com/tcterms/en-GB/thQuestion.aspx...
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | not put your force and intelligence at risk more than necessary |
Francois Boye
|
| 4 +1 | not put that valour [...] at such risk |
Charles Davis
|
Proposed translations
5 hrs
Francois Boye
United States
United States
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
not put your force and intelligence at risk more than necessary
brazo = symbol of physical strength
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Note added at 5 hrs (2016-01-03 03:18:37 GMT)
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ERRATUM: OR instead of AND
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Note added at 5 hrs (2016-01-03 03:18:37 GMT)
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ERRATUM: OR instead of AND
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think it's probably correct that "brazo" is a symbol of strength here. Thanks again for your help!"
+1
2 hrs
not put that valour [...] at such risk
"For the sake of Cuba you should be more cautious and not put that valour and intelligence it needs so badly at such risk." Or maybe "avoid putting [...] at risk". Something like that.
"Exponer un brazo" made me think immediately of the expression "dar su brazo a torcer" (allow one's arm to be twisted), but I don't think that's what she means. I think she means "brazo" in it's metaphorical sense:
"10. m. Valor, esfuerzo, poder. Nada resiste a su brazo."
Valour, gallantry, heroic prowess. I think that's what she has in mind.
"Exponer" can mean putting something in danger or at risk ("exponer su vida": risk one's life), and I think that's the sense here. DRAE again:
"5. tr. Poner algo o a alguien en situación de sufrir daño o perjuicio."
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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-01-03 00:36:35 GMT)
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"Brazo" in this sense is quite an old-fashioned usage, which fits her rhetoric, I feel. In the first RAE dictionary of 1726, this was the second meaning of "brazo" after the literal "arm":
"Metaphoricamente significa esfuerzo, poder, valór y ánimo".
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Note added at 3 hrs (2016-01-03 01:17:05 GMT)
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By the way, having had a look at the TC discussion, I think the commentators there are greatly exaggerating the strangeness of the language. It's perfectly coherent and quite normal for the mid-nineteenth century.
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Note added at 12 hrs (2016-01-03 09:54:58 GMT)
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I agree with Andy that she might mean "strength" or "power" rather than "valour". An expression like "el brazo indomable de la ley" does refer to force. But it's clear that she is referring to from the tone and context I get the feeling that she is referring to a personal quality, Agramonte's own "brazo e inteligencia", and I feel the idea is something heroic: not so much military strength as strength of character. May fortitude would be a suitable option.
To me it's a bit like the following, from Ercilla's epic of the conquest of Chile, La Araucana:
"Conviene ¡oh gran senado religioso!
que vencer o morir determinemos,
y en solo nuestro brazo valeroso
como últimos remedio confiemos."
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Note added at 12 hrs (2016-01-03 10:42:36 GMT)
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Yes, that's right. Exactly which part of the semantic field of this metaphor is foremost here could be argued endlessly. But the DRAE does put "valor" first, and the 1726 definition, "esfuerzo, poder, valór y ánimo", implies to me that "valour" is a possibility.
"Exponer un brazo" made me think immediately of the expression "dar su brazo a torcer" (allow one's arm to be twisted), but I don't think that's what she means. I think she means "brazo" in it's metaphorical sense:
"10. m. Valor, esfuerzo, poder. Nada resiste a su brazo."
Valour, gallantry, heroic prowess. I think that's what she has in mind.
"Exponer" can mean putting something in danger or at risk ("exponer su vida": risk one's life), and I think that's the sense here. DRAE again:
"5. tr. Poner algo o a alguien en situación de sufrir daño o perjuicio."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2016-01-03 00:36:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Brazo" in this sense is quite an old-fashioned usage, which fits her rhetoric, I feel. In the first RAE dictionary of 1726, this was the second meaning of "brazo" after the literal "arm":
"Metaphoricamente significa esfuerzo, poder, valór y ánimo".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2016-01-03 01:17:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
By the way, having had a look at the TC discussion, I think the commentators there are greatly exaggerating the strangeness of the language. It's perfectly coherent and quite normal for the mid-nineteenth century.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2016-01-03 09:54:58 GMT)
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I agree with Andy that she might mean "strength" or "power" rather than "valour". An expression like "el brazo indomable de la ley" does refer to force. But it's clear that she is referring to from the tone and context I get the feeling that she is referring to a personal quality, Agramonte's own "brazo e inteligencia", and I feel the idea is something heroic: not so much military strength as strength of character. May fortitude would be a suitable option.
To me it's a bit like the following, from Ercilla's epic of the conquest of Chile, La Araucana:
"Conviene ¡oh gran senado religioso!
que vencer o morir determinemos,
y en solo nuestro brazo valeroso
como últimos remedio confiemos."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2016-01-03 10:42:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Yes, that's right. Exactly which part of the semantic field of this metaphor is foremost here could be argued endlessly. But the DRAE does put "valor" first, and the 1726 definition, "esfuerzo, poder, valór y ánimo", implies to me that "valour" is a possibility.
Note from asker:
| I suppose there is the phrase "one's mighty arm" in English, which would imply strength or possibly valour. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Danik 2014
: For you too!
1 min
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Many thanks, Danik :) Happy New Year!
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| neutral |
Andy Watkinson
: Hi Charles. Impossible to fault your refs. or reasoning but I get this idea that she's warning against jeopardising his "force and intelligence/knowledge". Brazo just seems to come across as strength/force. He was known for doing things which risked both.
1 hr
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Hi Andy. Happy New Year! To me "valour" fits better, but I think valour and strength/force, to me, are really two sides of the same coin. But yes, the idea could be more strength here. She certainly means a personal quality: HIS brazo.
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