tremenda candela

English translation: there\'ll be hell to pay / he\'ll kill me / my life won\'t be worth living

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:tremenda candela
English translation:there\'ll be hell to pay / he\'ll kill me / my life won\'t be worth living
Entered by: SeiTT

09:12 Jan 4, 2015
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Cinema, Film, TV, Drama / Chicano slang
Spanish term or phrase: tremenda candela
Greetings

Re:
TV Show
Justified – United States, crime drama: S01E13.

There is a dialogue between Bo, a drug pusher, who has just lost a shipment of illegal narcotics, and a Mexican-American.
Chicano: How you think it's gonna go for you when our uncle finds out you lost his shipment?
Bo: Not very well.
Chicano: Tremenda candela.

How can we translate this idiomatically? Is it the idea that the candle of someone's life is flickering, by any chance?

Simon
SeiTT
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:59
there'll be hell to pay / he'll kill me / my life won't be worth living
Explanation:
since, according to the trusty Collins, "arrimar candela a align" means to give s.o. a tanning" (i.e., punishment), and this has "tremenda" added, then I think it needs to be fairly emphatic.

There are of course numerous ways of expressing this...

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Note added at 1 hr (2015-01-04 10:31:48 GMT)
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He'll have my guts for garters ...

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Note added at 3 hrs (2015-01-04 12:50:30 GMT)
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he'll beat the living daylights out of me

or even possibly, ...

it's curtains (for me)
Selected response from:

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:59
Grading comment
Many thanks, super!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4there'll be hell to pay / he'll kill me / my life won't be worth living
Carol Gullidge
5"The edge of a knife" or "The knife's edge"
Andrew Johnson
4Huge problem
Phoenix III
4he'll go ballistic
Giovanni Rengifo


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
there'll be hell to pay / he'll kill me / my life won't be worth living


Explanation:
since, according to the trusty Collins, "arrimar candela a align" means to give s.o. a tanning" (i.e., punishment), and this has "tremenda" added, then I think it needs to be fairly emphatic.

There are of course numerous ways of expressing this...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-01-04 10:31:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

He'll have my guts for garters ...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2015-01-04 12:50:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

he'll beat the living daylights out of me

or even possibly, ...

it's curtains (for me)

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:59
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 34
Grading comment
Many thanks, super!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Steven Huddleston: "there'll be hell to pay" is "on the money!" In Puerto Rico we often say "¡Que le den candela!" Excellent analysis, impeccable conclusion, Carol!
3 hrs
  -> wow, thanks, Steven :)

agree  philgoddard
6 hrs
  -> Thanks Phil!

agree  Charles Davis: "You", rather than "me", since the one in the firing line is Bo, apparently. I love the idea of a Chicano drug dealer saying "he'll have your guts for garters"!
7 hrs
  -> Yes guts for garters does sound a bit twee :) many thanks Charles!

agree  Thayenga: With Charles. Happy New Year. :)
7 hrs
  -> Many thanks Thayenga, and Happy New Year to you :)
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Huge problem


Explanation:
"tremenda candela" it's a play on words for "huge fire" as in the house will go on fire. In this context it translates as there's going to be a huge problem/chaos. I don't suggest the word chaos because it will be totally out of place for them to use but a huge problem does fit.

Phoenix III
United States
Local time: 19:59
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
he'll go ballistic


Explanation:
-

Giovanni Rengifo
Colombia
Local time: 18:59
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 12
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3 days 21 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
"The edge of a knife" or "The knife's edge"


Explanation:
You could answer it with something simple for a clear explanation of the feeling, but something with both the feeling of fear of the future and the use of an idiom, while maintaining clarity, I think would be best.

Example sentence(s):
  • The knife's edge.
  • On the edge of a knife.

    Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+a+knife-edge
Andrew Johnson
United States
Local time: 18:59
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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