Touch and Go

Question

I'm having trouble with translating "touch and go".

Example sentence:

The doctors mentioned that all three officers were "touch and go" for the first 10 minutes.

My rendition:

Los medicos mencionaron que los tres oficiales estaban "entre vida y muerte" por los primeros 10 minutos.

Answer 1

Hi, Kmeza. I think you have a fine translation there. It clearly explains in a non-idiomatic language what the situation was, and it is understandable by anyone who speaks Spanish. Unless your object is to come up with an equivalent idiom, that is an excellent translation.

Answer 2

Your problem is translating an “Idiom” Touch and go indicates an uncertainty,

Try replacing “touch and go” with “unstable” or another word that identifies the uncertainty of the situation.

The doctors mentioned that all three officers were "unstable" for the first 10 minutes.

Sorry kmeza, I did not notice your translation. - 00a52084, MAY 23, 2010