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Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Que él no es tan petete.

English translation:

he is not so smart

Added to glossary by Robert Forstag
Jul 10, 2019 14:02
4 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term

Que él no es tan petete.

Spanish to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Puerto Rican slang
The phrase occurs in the transcript of a conversation of two women talking. Apparently both were born in Puerto Rico. and now living in the continental US. What precedes this utterance is a long stretch of unintelligible speech, and there are no further clues in the transcript as to what "petete" might mean.

Thank you.
Proposed translations (English)
2 +2 he is not so smart
3 That he is not so dummy
Change log

Jul 10, 2019 16:00: patinba changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): JohnMcDove, Toni Castano, patinba

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Discussion

JohnMcDove Jul 10, 2019:
@ Robert - I think it is key to unravel the previous context to ascertain the meaning here. Andrea, José Patricio and Patinba and myself-- we could all be right, but the context will tell you what exactly. Sure, "Petete" in the TV program is smart and smarter as he gets more and more knowledge, but in the context can be used with that meaning or the opposite. As in (ironically) see how "smart" I am (meaning, I am dumb!)
Andrea Sacchi Jul 10, 2019:
Esto encontré sobre Petete que podría funcionar en tu contexto con dos mujeres charlando: Petete se le dicen a los hombres que enamoran mujeres cocinandoles buenas comidas y endulzando el oido

"oye ese hombre te esta peteteando es todo un petete"
José Patrício Jul 10, 2019:
baby's dummy? - https://raisingchildren.net.au/newborns/sleep/settling-routi...
José Patrício Jul 10, 2019:
Petete was baby in telvision: perhaps translated by baby meaning innocence

Proposed translations

+2
2 hrs
Selected

he is not so smart

If the term comes from the kids' TV program, Petete is a synonym for "smart" as the character had an encyclopoedia and could answer questions on anything.
Peer comment(s):
agree neilmac : Yep! The opposite of J McD's interpretation.
15 hrs
Thank you, Neil!
agree AllegroTrans
1 day 7 hrs
Thank you!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I am fairly convinced that this was the intended meaning here. Thanks to all."
47 mins

That he is not so dummy

I believe this could be a plausible reading.

https://www.wordmeaning.org/spanish/petete.htm

Saludos cordiales.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 54 mins (2019-07-10 14:57:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Note that the TV program (El Libro gordo del Petete) was also broadcast in Puerto Rico.

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petete

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 27 mins (2019-07-11 14:29:39 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------


https://www.atlantico.net/opinion/xoan-lopez/el-libro-gordo-...

El libro gordo de Petete te enseñaba, te entretenía y hasta la clase siguiente se despedía. Petete era una especie de pingüino medio rojo muy listo que daba la cara en Televisión Española en los años ochenta para contar de modo simple el porqué de las cosas en dos minutos, como si de una enciclopedia breve se tratase.

[...]

Un libro que recibes a través de la aplicación que más chascarrillos y boberías transmite por segundo en el mundo, se convierte en un chiste más como el de: ELLA: ¿Sabes ese tonto que todos llevamos dentro? ÉL: Sí; ELLA: Pues tú lo llevas por fuera.

As I note in the "discussion" yes, "Petete" is "smart" (or even "smarty" i.e. "smart aleck") as a primary meaning, but depending on the context it could be the opposite, ironically, of course.
Peer comment(s):
neutral AllegroTrans : you mean "so dumb" or "such a dummy" surely?
1 day 8 hrs
I guess so. Idiomatically speaking. Again, context is of the essence.
Something went wrong...
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