Weird English from Spanish point of view part II. I often come across English phrases that seem illogical to me, I know the meaning of these phrases in English but I always try these to make sense in

Mario

Weird English from Spanish point of view part II. I often come across English phrases that seem illogical to me, I know the meaning of these phrases in English but I always try these to make sense in Spanish... for example: 1.- Remember by heart. -Wouldn't it be more logic to say: remember "by brain" or remember "by memory" instead? 2.- I quit for good. -I can't find a way to explain myself this phrase in Spanish lol. -Wouldn't it be easier to understand "I quit forever/already" , well it's not exactly the same... 3.- Down town. -Down+Town, how come this means Center+City or Centre City or Center of the city, this would be more accurate. Also when I see the word Down town I imagine it's location underground. 4.- Pay beforehand. -Why hand? 5.- Shoot at will. -Why will?, and speaking of will, don't you have problems when somebody is called William and therefore a phrase like "Will will be there" becomes funny?Oh I found that for #2.- "I quit for good" can be substituted for "I quit once and for all", which makes more sense for me ;)

Nov 8, 2012 4:58 AM

Answers · 11

4 - "beforehand" será "de antemano", no? y porque "mano", entonces? ;)

November 8, 2012

3 - Down town. Just a guess : perhaps the expression comes from a city that has the center in a valley (or is a port surrounded by hills) , and the houses are on a hill. So people would walk down when they want to go to the centre. 5 - Shoot at will. This one seems logical to me: shoot whenever you want, according to your own will.

November 8, 2012

1 - We used to believe that memories were stored in the heart, that's why we say "remember by heart."

November 8, 2012

2.- I quit for good. -I can't find a way to explain myself this phrase in Spanish lol. -Wouldn't it be easier to understand "I quit forever/already" , well it's not exactly the same... I quit for the good of whatever the reason maybe. You technically could say "I quit for worse" but that would have a slightly different meaning in context. Quitting for good implies there is a good reason for you to quit. Quitting for worse implies there is a reason which is bad for you to quit.

March 30, 2013