That’s a matter of taste

An old lady approaches Dewey:
- Where are the good books?
Dewey: - That’s a matter of taste.
Lady: - I just don’t want to waste my time.
Dewey: - As opposed to mine.
Lady: - What did you say?
Dewey: - I’m opposed to land mines
Tamara: - You’re walking a fine line (or you are treading on thin ice)
Dewey: - Nah. I can spot a hearing aid a mile away.

Traducción:

Una señora mayor se acerca a Dewey:
- ¿Dónde están los libros buenos?
Dewey: - Esto es cuestión de gustos.
Lectora: - Simplemente no quiero perder mi tiempo.
Dewey: - ¿Y el mío, sí?
Lectora: - ¿Qué dijo?
Dewey: - Que soy contrario a las minas terrestres.
Tamara: - Estás jugando con fuego. [Te la estás jugando; Estás pisando un terreno delicado]
Dewey: - Ca! Puedo divisar un audífono a una milla de distancia.

NB: Obviously the verbal trick that Dewey plays on the old woman by changing phrases “…as opposed to mine”; “…opposed to land mines”, cannot be captured by the Spanish translation.

Let’s work on the word “matter” today. In Physics, it is translated as “materia”. But it has a number of other meanings as well, as can be seen from the following useful phrases:

It’s a matter of money = Es cuestión de dinero (In English we could also use “question” here);
It’s a matter of State = Es asunto de Estado
As a matter of fact = As a matter of fact [de hecho], the woman was wearing a hearing aid. Dewey has a very matter-of-fact [prosaica] way of speaking to users.
What’s the matter [with you]? = ¿Qué [te] pasa?
What’s the matter with going to the central library? = ¿Qué inconveniente hay en ir a la biblioteca central?
It matters to me if she can’t find a good book = Me importa si no puede encontrar un buen libro.
No matter, I’ll write the letter myself = No importa, escribiré yo la carta.
No matter how much the cataloguers work, there are always books waiting to be processed = Por mucho que trabajen los catalogadores, siempre hay libros pendientes de ser catalogados.

Waste: This verb is frequently confused with “spend” because both can be translated as “gastar”. However, “waste” has a more negative meaning: “malgastar”.

Let’s see if you can spot the different meanings of the following 2 sets of sentences:

• He spent time at the computer = He wasted time at the computer.
• He spent the money on buying new books = He wasted the money on buying new books.

To spot = divisar: Dewey spotted the woman’s hearing aid. The student spotted a mistake on the library’s web page. Were you able to spot the difference between the sentences given above?

Have a good weekend,

Tomàs & Alice

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