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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

Atirou no que viu, acertou o que não viu

English translation: more by accident than by design

19:54 Jul 31, 2020
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Portuguese term or phrase: Atirou no que viu, acertou o que não viu
I'm looking for an equivalent expression in English. I already know "Went to search she-asses and found the kingship", referring to Saul in the Old Testament (1 Samuel chapters 9-10). This question was asked by Roberto Costa over 12 years ago (https://www.proz.com/kudoz/portuguese-to-english/idioms-maxi... Since I never heard this expression before, I wonder if you know of any other more common expression to convey the same idea?

The idea is: you set for a certain goal, but could not envision the end result, which ended up being much better or surprising.
Henrique Serra
United States
Local time: 16:58
English translation:more by accident than by design
Explanation:
Acho que é o que mais se aproxima.
Selected response from:

Marisa Averbuch
Brazil
Local time: 19:58
Grading comment
Thank you Marisa. I think your solution is elegant and still applies to a broad range of situations. Thanks also to all those who contributed, particularly Nick Taylor: that Matt and Katerina Emmons story is AWESOME!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +6A missed target and a prize still won
Nick Taylor
4 +6more by accident than by design
Marisa Averbuch
3 +1Blessing in Disguise
Verginia Ophof
4caught a lucky break
Bett
3Let's throw it against the wall and see if it sticks.
Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
2the end result was a whole lot better than expected
Barbara Cochran, MFA


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Let's throw it against the wall and see if it sticks.


Explanation:
.

Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
Brazil
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 24
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
A missed target and a prize still won


Explanation:
A missed target and a prize still won

Nick Taylor
Local time: 23:58
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Verginia Ophof
1 hr
  -> Thanks Verginia
agree  Bett: good too!
1 hr
  -> Thanks Bett
agree  Maria da Glória Teixeira
4 hrs
  -> Thanks Gloria
agree  Clauwolf
18 hrs
  -> Thanks clau
agree  Mark Robertson
1 day 23 hrs
  -> Cheers Mark
agree  Alessandro Nogueira
3 days 8 hrs
  -> Thanks Alessandro
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

45 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +6
more by accident than by design


Explanation:
Acho que é o que mais se aproxima.


    https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/more+by+accident+than+design
Marisa Averbuch
Brazil
Local time: 19:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you Marisa. I think your solution is elegant and still applies to a broad range of situations. Thanks also to all those who contributed, particularly Nick Taylor: that Matt and Katerina Emmons story is AWESOME!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nick Taylor: I think that works well
54 mins
  -> Thanks, Nick.
agree  Silvia Tratnik
18 hrs
  -> Thanks, Silvia.
agree  Liane Lazoski
19 hrs
  -> Thanks, Liane.
agree  Mark Robertson
1 day 11 hrs
  -> Thanks, Mark.
agree  Miriam Goldschmidt
2 days 19 hrs
  -> Thanks, Miriam.
agree  Alessandro Nogueira
3 days 7 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
the end result was a whole lot better than expected


Explanation:
Maybe.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2020-07-31 21:31:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"we've far exceeded our goals"

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 18:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 24
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Blessing in Disguise


Explanation:
suggestions:
As fate would have it.......

Verginia Ophof
Belize
Local time: 16:58
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 36

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Bett: very good
3 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
caught a lucky break


Explanation:
suggestion

Bett
Local time: 19:58
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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