Jun 22, 2019 14:34
4 yrs ago
Spanish term

Cosquilloso

Spanish to English Other Food & Drink Coffee production
Hi all,

I'm translating a transcription of an interview with a coffee producer from Mexican Spanish into British English and I'm stuck on one word. Please find some context below:

'¿Y puedes decirnos cómo haces para cosechar el café?

Bueno, si ustedes ven cómo es esta matita todavía no tiene nada y así pasa en todos los cafetales, entonces con esta mata no voy, voy con ésta y los que corto son los más rojos para que salga el cafecito de calidad, entonces los que tengan los corto y así voy, uno por uno, así el primer corte pues pueda traer un tanatito o dos tanatitos nomás, si no pues, a lo mejor, con cosquilloso, poco a veces, hay que irlos juntando como se va madurando, porque si lo dejo mucho tiempo también por el tiempo pues se cae también.'

Could anyone help please? I really have no idea.

Many thanks :)

Discussion

Robert Carter Jun 22, 2019:
You could be right about the transcription, Cecilia, perhaps it's "como".

If it is indeed "con," and it doesn't mean what I've suggested, the only other thing I can think of is that "cosquilloso" is some kind of pest/parasite, but I haven't found any evidence for that so far.
Cecilia Gowar Jun 22, 2019:
I believe the meaning of the word has never been an issue. The problem is the preceding conjunction. It makes no sense unless there is a mistake in the transcript.
Charles Davis Jun 22, 2019:
I don't find it that strange. People who deal with plants are prone to regard them as having personalities.
Charles Davis Jun 22, 2019:
It looks as though "cosquilloso" is being used in the sense of "quisquilloso". In fact (I didn't realise this), as well as "ticklish" the DLE indicates that "cosquilloso" can mean "muy delicado de genio y que se ofende con poco motivo".
franglish Jun 22, 2019:
@Cecilia extrapolating, maybe small thorns. Just an idea...
Cecilia Gowar Jun 22, 2019:
Still an adjective... you cannot say ¨with prickly¨.
franglish Jun 22, 2019:
Collins dict.: when describing something: prickly.
Cecilia Gowar Jun 22, 2019:
As far as I know and could find out, ¨cosquilloso¨is an adjective (tickly, touchy, etc). So it makes no sense to me in the above context.
However, that particular word seems to have not much bearing in the overall meaning...
philgoddard Jun 22, 2019:

Proposed translations

+3
1 hr
Selected

fussy / picky / pernickerty

To describe someone as "cosquilloso" means that they are being very fussy or hard to please. I think this makes sense in the context, as the person is saying that they are harvesting only the plants that will produce high-quality coffee.

The "con" before this word is a little odd, but the speaker does sound like they have a very particular way of speaking. I think they just mean "siendo cosquilloso."

Not an easy text to translate, as is often the case with the vernacular.

I think "being fussy/picky" would work as a translation for "con cosquilloso".
Peer comment(s):

agree Helena Chavarria : I agree with you!
1 min
Thanks, Helena :-)
agree Charles Davis
46 mins
Thanks, Charles.
neutral Cecilia Gowar : So ¨with¨here means ¨being¨? Makes no sense to me, even with colloquial speech...
1 hr
Thanks, Cecilia. I admit translating "con" by "being" is a bit of stretch, but I can't see what else it would mean in the context. Possibly a transcription error with "como"?
agree neilmac : Although in this context, "gingerly" (= very carefully) might be a better rendering…
17 hrs
Thanks, Neil. Not sure about "gingerly" because it implies caution, but carefully is certainly another way of approaching it. I was thinking the idea was more in the area of "overly meticulous".
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+2
18 hrs

(here) = very carefully

In the context, I take it to me "very carefully" or "with great care".



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2019-06-23 08:50:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I.e "con cosquilloso" -> "gingerly/with great care"...etc....
Peer comment(s):

agree Jan Castillo : Yes. I think the simple "very carefully" could be used in this context and with this speaker.
9 days
agree Diana Casoliba Bonache : I agree, in this case it means "very carefully".
9 days
Something went wrong...
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