Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
Pero lo que mal empieza, mal acaba.
English translation:
It was doomed from the start.
Added to glossary by
RSI EN-ES (AA)
Mar 21, 2012 14:06
12 yrs ago
6 viewers *
Spanish term
Pero lo que mal empieza, mal acaba.
Spanish to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Seems like there should be an English idiom for this, but nothing comes to mind other than a literal translation.
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Mar 26, 2012 11:16: RSI EN-ES (AA) Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+2
24 mins
RSI EN-ES (AA)
Other
Other
Native in Spanish
&
English
Other
Rem tene, verba sequentur
Native in: Spanish 
, English
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Italian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
It was doomed from the start.
Just another idea that came to mind.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+6
3 mins
a bad beginning makes a bad ending
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Mary Lou Gonzalez
3 mins
|
| agree |
Raquel Zyserman
8 mins
|
| agree |
Thayenga
19 mins
|
| agree |
Richard Hill
2 hrs
|
| neutral |
Carol Gullidge
: I know this is a translation from the Greek, but somehow it doesn't have the authentic ring (and snappiness?) of an English proverb - perhaps that's the reason...?
4 hrs
|
| neutral |
philgoddard
: Agree with Carol - and we don't have the context anyway, so this whole discussion is rather pointless.
5 hrs
|
| agree |
Maria Espejo
7 hrs
|
| agree |
Robert Forstag
: I would only suggest amending to “...for a bad ending.”
2670 days
|
+1
7 mins
What starts out on the wrong foot, ends on the wrong foot
One option.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Letredenoblesse
5 hrs
|
|
Thanks Agnes. Looking at it again, it should probably read "ends up on the wrong foot.
|
11 mins
Lindsay Spratt
France
France
Native in English
Works in field
France
Por/Sp/Cat/Fr->En, IoLDipTrans, MACantab
Native in: English
Works in: Portuguese to English, Spanish to English, English, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
What begins badly, ends badly
I've never heard an expression like this in English.
+1
1 hr
James A. Walsh
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
&
English
Spain
A cut above the rest in translation...
Native in: English (Variants: Irish, US, UK) , Spanish (Variants: Latin American, Standard-Spain)
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
94
Spanish term (edited):
Lo que mal empieza, mal acaba
You only get out what you put in
Seems to amount to the same thing...
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-21 15:37:13 GMT)
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Or: "You reap what you sow."
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-03-21 15:37:13 GMT)
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Or: "You reap what you sow."
Reference:
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Linda Grabner
: aka: garbage in, garbage out, but that's actually for a different context
20 hrs
|
|
Cheers Linda
|
22 hrs
Linda Grabner
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Need it perfect? Need it fast? Call me!
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish
What goes around, comes around
I'm not quite sure this is exactly the same thing, but it's the most colloquial saying we've got in English, and it's at least approximately the same.
1 day 1 hr
As you sow, so shall you reap
A little biblical but it is another way of saying it.
Discussion