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English translation: elephant in the room

19:02 Nov 6, 2021
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings / current affairs
Spanish term or phrase: el burro del salón
This seems to be a fairly common expression, at least in Mexican Spanish, although one I hadn't run across before.
It's from an opinion piece in a Mexican newspaper, which talks about the close US-Mexico economic & social ties, but then about how Mexico did not show up at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow prepared to be a committed participant.

Here's the paragraph in which the phrase occurs:

"El presidente de México cambió las reglas a las empresas que invirtieron en generación de energía limpia deteniendo su avance, y dejando al país sin la necesaria inversión extranjera que dinamice su economía. En lugar de que la nación aproveche su potencial para ser vanguardia en energía solar, se enrarece el ambiente de negocios y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."

I think I have a pretty good sense of the meaning of the phrase, but I haven't come up with an equivalent idiomatic expression in English.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thomas Walker
United States
Local time: 20:57
English translation:elephant in the room
Explanation:
First thing that sprang to mind. Defined by Webster as "an obvious major problem or issue that people avoid discussing or acknowledging".

An option that might also go with "al que nadie se quiere acercar" could be "hot potato"





--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2021-11-06 19:38:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another option could be "pariah"1.
an outcast.
"they were treated as social pariahs"
Similar:
outcast
persona non grata
leper
reject
untouchable
undesirable


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:39:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."
->
"and shows México up as***the pariah” *** that nobody wants to get close to."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:40:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/show up

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2021-11-06 19:41:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In fact, "persona non grata" may now be my favourite option, as I'm partial to a bit of Latin now and then :-)
Selected response from:

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 05:57
Grading comment
I think we didn't really come up with an exact English equivalent of the idiomatic expression in the ST. I don't think "elephant in the room" is quite right in this context. But "persona non grata" seems to me to be closer here.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5the ass in the class
AllegroTrans
4 +1the school dunce wearing a cone hat in the corner
Adrian MM.
4elephant in the room
neilmac


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
elephant in the room


Explanation:
First thing that sprang to mind. Defined by Webster as "an obvious major problem or issue that people avoid discussing or acknowledging".

An option that might also go with "al que nadie se quiere acercar" could be "hot potato"





--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2021-11-06 19:38:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another option could be "pariah"1.
an outcast.
"they were treated as social pariahs"
Similar:
outcast
persona non grata
leper
reject
untouchable
undesirable


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:39:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"y se exhibe a México como ***el “burro del salón” *** al que nadie se quiere acercar."
->
"and shows México up as***the pariah” *** that nobody wants to get close to."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2021-11-06 19:40:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/show up

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 38 mins (2021-11-06 19:41:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In fact, "persona non grata" may now be my favourite option, as I'm partial to a bit of Latin now and then :-)


    https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/hot-potato
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 05:57
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 82
Grading comment
I think we didn't really come up with an exact English equivalent of the idiomatic expression in the ST. I don't think "elephant in the room" is quite right in this context. But "persona non grata" seems to me to be closer here.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Juan Jacob: Equiparar un burro con un elefante no me parece adecuado. Un burro es simplemente un tonto. Y como no es una "expresión común" en México, no veo impedimento alguno para traducir textualmente. Nada que ver con paria o papa caliente.
15 mins
  -> Discrepo. "Persona non grata" y "pariah" = "al que nadie se quiere acercar."
agree  Muriel Vasconcellos
17 mins
  -> Cheers Mu, stay safe ;)
neutral  Jennifer Levey: 'elephant in the room' refers to a topic that no one wants to talk about because it makes them uneasy (as does the mere fact that they are uneasy about it...). That's not the sense of the ST.
28 mins
  -> Which part of my Webster's definition did you fail to spot? And what about the REST of my suggestions?
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
the ass in the class


Explanation:
Putting a bit of alliteration into it

I Put The Ass In Class
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Released: 2021
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put the ass in the class | WordReference Forums
https://forum.wordreference.com › ... › English Only
9 Feb 2014 · 3 posts · 3 authors
Ass means someone who is mean, stupid, and/or arrogant. It is similar to "you're an ass". It depends on the context in those phrases. It is a ...



AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:57
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Juan Jacob: Y con rima... me gusta.
7 mins
  -> thanks
agree  philgoddard: Good idea.
21 mins
  -> thanks
agree  anademahomar: Excellent!
1 hr
  -> thanks
agree  Jennifer Levey: Even better when spoken with a contrived 'home-counties' accent (arse rhymes with class).
1 hr
  -> Well if asker uses this it will be probaly be read in USA, but thanks aawwfully!
agree  neilmac: I'm fond of rhymes, at the best of times, so have an agree, this Sunday, from me :-)
12 hrs
  -> Your praises are kind, blow my mind, so go on your way and have a great day
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
the school dunce wearing a cone hat in the corner


Explanation:
as per anademahomar, Honduras, and who beat me to it, that is if also used in the US of A.



Example sentence(s):
  • "El Más Burro del Salón", Me envolvió con sus relatos y experiencias, me llamó la atención el título y la forma en que expresó su sentir sobre sus experiencias escolares, me hizo reflexionar sobre mi labor como docente
  • Nowadays dunces are often shown wearing paper cone hats and in less enlightened educational times schoolchildren were sometimes made to wear a dunce cap and sit on a stool in the corner as a form of humiliating punishment for misbehaving or for failing to

    Reference: http://www.amazon.de/MAS-BURRO-SALÓN-SALON-Spanish-ebook/dp/...
Adrian MM.
Austria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Simone Taylor: Dunce is the correct term not ass.
1 day 19 hrs
  -> obrigado and thanks. Adolf H. also happened to be one in Austria, but of course kept quiet about it.
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