Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
Cuentagotas (in this context)
English translation:
was few and far between
Added to glossary by
Eileen Brophy
Sep 15, 2016 17:56
7 yrs ago
Spanish term
Spain
The Right Word Used in the Right Context
Native in: English (Variant: UK)
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish
Cuentagotas (in this context)
Spanish to English
Marketing
Journalism
Pharmaceutical products
Does anyone have a suggestion other than "dropper" in this context please, as my imagination is going to sleep today :-0((
This is the text :
a pesar de ser una de las más prevalentes del planeta- hace que las buenas noticias para los 214 millones de personas infectadas por malaria en 2015 se den con cuentagotas.
Thank you for any help
This is the text :
a pesar de ser una de las más prevalentes del planeta- hace que las buenas noticias para los 214 millones de personas infectadas por malaria en 2015 se den con cuentagotas.
Thank you for any help
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
3 hrs
Selected
was few and far between
for the 214 million .... good news was few and far between
an idiomatic expression
few and far between | Definition, meaning & more | Collins Dictionary
www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/few-and-far-be...
phrase Things that are few and far between are very rare or do not happen very often. [emphasis] ⇒ Successful women politicians are few and far between.
CS's review of When Will There Be Good News? - Goodreads
www.goodreads.com/review/show/41820195
Jan 4, 2009 - A very appropriately titled book, as good news was few and far between for most of the characters.I loved the previous Jackson Brodie book by ...
The Week That Solar Was Left for Dead | Seeking Alpha
seekingalpha.com › Investing Ideas › Technology
Nov 24, 2008 - The good news was few and far between. What stuck out most to me was the (all too familiar) vigorous selling that followed LDK's earnings ...
Executives to forgo incentives following dismal IBM Q4 results ...
www.businesscloudnews.com/.../executives-to-forgo-incentive...
Jan 22, 2014 - ... cloud business and modest growth in business analytics, a massive investment area for IBM, good news was few and far between.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2016-09-15 21:28:57 GMT)
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I posted this first and then read Charles's answer (promise!). It does seem to be used with news quite frequently.
an idiomatic expression
few and far between | Definition, meaning & more | Collins Dictionary
www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/few-and-far-be...
phrase Things that are few and far between are very rare or do not happen very often. [emphasis] ⇒ Successful women politicians are few and far between.
CS's review of When Will There Be Good News? - Goodreads
www.goodreads.com/review/show/41820195
Jan 4, 2009 - A very appropriately titled book, as good news was few and far between for most of the characters.I loved the previous Jackson Brodie book by ...
The Week That Solar Was Left for Dead | Seeking Alpha
seekingalpha.com › Investing Ideas › Technology
Nov 24, 2008 - The good news was few and far between. What stuck out most to me was the (all too familiar) vigorous selling that followed LDK's earnings ...
Executives to forgo incentives following dismal IBM Q4 results ...
www.businesscloudnews.com/.../executives-to-forgo-incentive...
Jan 22, 2014 - ... cloud business and modest growth in business analytics, a massive investment area for IBM, good news was few and far between.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2016-09-15 21:28:57 GMT)
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I posted this first and then read Charles's answer (promise!). It does seem to be used with news quite frequently.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I think this is what we would say in the UK, thank you very much."
+2
19 mins
Robert Carter
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Mexico
Translating full-time since 1998
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
12
patchy / intermittent / sporadic[ally] / in dribs and drabs
It would help if we had the beginning of the sentence too, but these seem appropriate.
"...despite being one of the most prevalent ones on the planet--means good news for the 214 million people affected by malaria in 2015 is sporadic/patchy/intermittent (appears sporadically/in dribs and drabs/little by little)."
"...despite being one of the most prevalent ones on the planet--means good news for the 214 million people affected by malaria in 2015 is sporadic/patchy/intermittent (appears sporadically/in dribs and drabs/little by little)."
Note from asker:
| This is the beginning of the sentence Robert. Así pues, la falta de innovación y de interés de las compañías farmacéuticas por una enfermedad que no es rentable |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
neilmac
: "...the good news comes... in dribs and drabs" (isn't that very UK usage?) is what I thought of first...
57 mins
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|
Thanks, Neil, I think it probably is, perhaps Aus. too, I can't say if I ever recall hearing an American use the expression.
|
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| agree |
Mario Solis Burgos
1 hr
|
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Thanks, Mario.
|
+3
32 mins
thin on the ground
I think it implies something rarer than any of Robert's suggestions; scarce rather than sporadic or intermittent. Also it's an idiomatic set phrase which seems to me to call for a similar one in English. "Few and far between" would be good but it needs a plural, and I don't think you can say that good news is few and far between. But "thin on the ground" is one possibility; you could say "very thin on the ground" or "pretty thin on the ground" if you like.
Nigel Lawson in the Daily Mail (sorry!):
"We are living in an era when good news is thin on the ground."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2244822/Thought-ru...
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Note added at 1 hr (2016-09-15 19:08:28 GMT)
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Or you might consider a freer version, such as:
"...means that the 214 million people infected with malaria in 2015 have had very little to celebrate".
This way you wouldn't translate "buenas noticias" literally at all; it would be included in the idea of having little to celebrate. I could imagine an English-speaking journalist writing it. That's what I think we need to aim at.
Nigel Lawson in the Daily Mail (sorry!):
"We are living in an era when good news is thin on the ground."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2244822/Thought-ru...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2016-09-15 19:08:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Or you might consider a freer version, such as:
"...means that the 214 million people infected with malaria in 2015 have had very little to celebrate".
This way you wouldn't translate "buenas noticias" literally at all; it would be included in the idea of having little to celebrate. I could imagine an English-speaking journalist writing it. That's what I think we need to aim at.
Note from asker:
| Thank you Charles |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Robert Carter
: Yes, this is more like it - the idea is that the news is "bleak". You have a bit of a knack for this, don't you ;-)
20 mins
|
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Thanks very much, Robert! I'm flattered :)
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| agree |
bizisyl
23 mins
|
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Thanks, bizisyl :)
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| agree |
neilmac
12 hrs
|
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Thanks, Neil ;)
|
1 hr
hen's teeth
"good news... is like hen's teeth"...
1 hr
Ana Vozone
Works in field
Will do!
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: European/Portugal)
Works in: English to Portuguese, French to Portuguese, German to Portuguese, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
(news)... trickling in/out
Another suggestion.
Bits of news are trickling out about the LG PM800, a PocketPC-based PDA set to make its big splash after months of ...
Bits of news are trickling out about the LG PM800, a PocketPC-based PDA set to make its big splash after months of ...
Example sentence:
... reported to be accidentally lost in pubs, and bits of news are trickling in on the new features of the upcoming iPhone.
Inevitably in time for IBC the news are trickling in and if I hadn't better ...
Discussion