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  3. Poetry & Literature

si estuvieran aflojándose

English translation: as though they were coming loose

23:30 Jan 15, 2017
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Murder mystery novel
Spanish term or phrase: si estuvieran aflojándose
Good evening Prozians,
I have a question about the equivalent of “si estuvieran aflojándose” in reference to teeth.

Context: El estómago se me revolvió y comencé a hacer arcadas, sentía los dientes como si estuvieran aflojándose, creí que se me caerían.

Mi intento: I felt sick to my stomach and I began to heave, my teeth felt like they were becoming loose, I thought they were going to fall out.
Angelv04
United States
Local time: 05:39
English translation:as though they were coming loose
Explanation:
I would say "coming loose"
Selected response from:

Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:39
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +6as though they were coming loose
Simon Bruni
4as though they were loosening their grip
Carol Gullidge
4As if they were becoming loose
Gabrielle Oke
4I felt like my teeth were coming loose
Hannah Haynes
3as if they were rattling in my head
Linda Grabner


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
as though they were coming loose


Explanation:
I would say "coming loose"

Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 151
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  JohnMcDove
40 mins
agree  Paul García
42 mins
agree  Joshua Parker
2 hrs
agree  Andy Watkinson
3 hrs
agree  Thayenga: :)
6 hrs
agree  bizisyl
12 hrs
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
as though they were loosening their grip


Explanation:
... only because I feel that both "coming loose" and "becoming loose" - despite being accurate - lack something that this dramatic episode calls for; i.e., they fall a bit flat. I also rejected my own idea of "working loose" for the same reason.

... My teeth seemed to be loosening their grip, as though about to detach themselves entirely / eject themselves / fall out

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 315

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Simon Bruni: Hi Carol. The problem with this is that "loosening one's grip" is a common set expression, meaning something quite different: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/loosen-yo... // I'm sure! Also in MacMillan and others :)
5 mins
  -> Hi Simon! Are you sure you're not thinking of "losing your grip"? I'm afraid I usually find that "Cambridge dictionary" extremely suspect//Actually, I take that back in this context, but don't feel that it detracts from my proposal in this instance
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
As if they were becoming loose


Explanation:
The phrase "si estuvieran", I would translate as, "as if they were". The term "aflojándose" of course would mean "loosening" or more accurately, "becoming loose".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs (2017-01-16 10:54:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For something more dramatic, you could also say, "My teeth felt like they were wiggling loose". Or, "My teeth felt as if they were wiggling loose", for something slightly more poetic than the former.

Example sentence(s):
  • After that last meal, my teeth felt wobbly, as if they were becoming loose.
Gabrielle Oke
Vietnam
Local time: 16:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
I felt like my teeth were coming loose


Explanation:
I felt like my teeth were coming loose

Hannah Haynes
Colombia
Local time: 04:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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16 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
as if they were rattling in my head


Explanation:
just another suggestion, along the lines of Carol's and Gabrielle's idea of being more dramatic. A freer, but perhaps more impactful (I hate that word, but it's more concise than the alternative) way of translating the Spanish idea, and certainly creates quite the imagery.

Linda Grabner
United States
Local time: 05:39
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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