... era verde y se la comió un chivo.

English translation: (hope) was nipped in the bud

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:... era verde y se la comió un chivo.
English translation:(hope) was nipped in the bud
Entered by: Justin Peterson

08:57 Oct 30, 2016
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Cuba: colloquial phrase
Spanish term or phrase: ... era verde y se la comió un chivo.
La pregunta ahora sería cuántas décadas nos dirá el Gobierno que tardaremos en recuperarnos de los efectos del bloqueo (contra Cuba) una vez que este no exista", dijo Orlando Jiménez. "Porque, sin dudas, esa será la justificación para continuar con el bloqueo de puertas adentro. Sé que la esperanza es lo último que se pierde, pero aquí en Cuba la esperanza era verde y se la comió un chivo

Obviously, hope was lost, but ... if there is anyone who understands the nuance here, that would be helpful.
Justin Peterson
Spain
Local time: 11:17
(hope) was nipped in the bud
Explanation:
The more I think about it the more I feel this is the intention
Selected response from:

ormiston
Local time: 11:17
Grading comment
You nailed it. (Got the image and metaphor perfect)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5(hope) was nipped in the bud
ormiston
4 +2(hope)... was fleeting
neilmac
4 +2hope was nothing more than an empty pipe dream
James A. Walsh
4...was lost/dashed before it even had a chance to exist.
Robert Carter


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
(hope)... was fleeting


Explanation:
Never mind the "verde" part.

"Although hope is (usually/always/traditionally) the last to be lost, here in Cuba the hope was fleeting."

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Note added at 1 hr (2016-10-30 10:34:00 GMT)
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See MPGS' discussion comment for references :-)

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:17
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 207

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
28 mins

agree  Muriel Vasconcellos: Excellent!
37 mins

neutral  ormiston: could the 'verde' here possibly mean 'budding'? I think it's a 'meaningful component'!
5 hrs
  -> Most definitely yes, but I don't think we need to maintain all the components of the original saying.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
la esperanza era verde y se la comió un chivo.
hope was nothing more than an empty pipe dream


Explanation:
Or "little more". I think this conveys the message.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-10-30 11:19:22 GMT)
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Or "was just an empty pipe dream"

James A. Walsh
Spain
Local time: 11:17
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 94

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  lugoben
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, lugoben

agree  Patrice
11 hrs
  -> Thanks, Patrice
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
(hope) was nipped in the bud


Explanation:
The more I think about it the more I feel this is the intention

ormiston
Local time: 11:17
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 43
Grading comment
You nailed it. (Got the image and metaphor perfect)

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  franglish
1 hr

agree  Wendy Streitparth: Sounds perfect to me.
3 hrs

agree  Carol Gullidge
19 hrs

agree  MollyRose: Yeah, this one!
1 day 6 hrs

agree  Dr. Mara Huber
3 days 15 hrs
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1 day 8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
...was lost/dashed before it even had a chance to exist.


Explanation:
I think the meaning is that hope is usually the last thing to be lost but in this case you were lucky if it even existed at all.


Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 04:17
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 120
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