New Year's Twitter Riddle

Question

On New Year's Day I received the following Tweet:

Acá en Apure no se cultivan uvas, así que si te quieres poner supersticioso te lanzas 12 mangos verdes y listo.

Try to guess what it means. No native Spanish speakers, please.

Hints: "Apure" is a state in Venezuela. This is related to a New Year's tradition.

Answer 1

Acá en Apure no se cultivan uvas, así que si te quieres poner supersticioso te lanzas 12 mangos verdes y listo.

Here in Apure we don't grow grapes, so if you want to be superstitious you toss back (ie. eat rapidly) 12 green mangoes and you're set.

Very good! Why? ;) - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

It is a tradition to eat 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's eve, one for each chime of the clock bell. - lorenzo9, Jan 10, 2011

Excellent! - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 2

Acá en Apure no se cultivan uvas, así que si te quieres poner supersticioso te lanzas 12 mangos verdes y listo.

Here in Apure we don't grow grapes, so, if you want to hold with tradition, throw 12 green mangos down your neck and Bob's your uncle.

I suggested 'hold with tradition' as in English we do not usually verbally recognise such norms as being superstitious and thus translating using this word would not sound natural.

For 'throw down your neck' you could say - stuff down, chomp on, scoff down and probably many more...

For 'Bob's your uncle' you could say - you are all set, there you have it, there you go, you're sorted and again, probably many more...

I've never heard "Bob's your uncle" - lorenzo9, Jan 10, 2011

I agree with you in that eating the 12 grapes is more of a tradition than a superstition. However, the writer chose to write it that way, so you need to keep that in mind when offering an interpretation. Having said that, I like your interpretation.... - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

...very much. A good approximation of the slang level. Great job! - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

It's of US origin I'm sure, an example of nepotism in it's literal sense, I'll look for a link to an explanation. Very common in British English and often changed to 'Robert is your father's brother'. - afowen, Jan 10, 2011

Thanks Gekkosan. So, in this instance, the writer actually means superstitious? My Spanish is not that good, I didn't pick up that nuance rather thought that was a 'normal' way of putting it. - afowen, Jan 10, 2011

How about: We don' grow no grapes here in Apure, so, if yo' wanna geyet superstitious on yo' ayas, throw back 12 green mangos and you is aaaaaaaall seyet. - afowen, Jan 10, 2011

Lorenzo, I was sure that I'd read an article regarding a high-ranking US official getting a job for his nephew. There are lots of references on the net as to its origin... - afowen, Jan 10, 2011

@Afowen: Very funny - but no, I don't think the level of slang in the original goes quite that low in the "hick" scale. :-D - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

Wikipedia has a great explanation of "Bob's your uncle." It's British. - JoyceM, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 3

Here in Apure they do not grow grapes. Because of this, if you want to stick with superstition, eat 12 green mangos and you're good to go.

Good job! - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 4

In Apure grapes are not produced, so if you become supersticious, throw a dozen unripe avocados, and you're all set.

????????

I don't know what tradition this may refer to.

Edit: I do now remember reading in a recent post about eating 12 grapes on new years eve...! Can you wolf down 12 avocados instead??? ha ha... that would be soooooo much to eat

An alternative way of ensuring good luck for the new year? - pesta, Jan 10, 2011

Hah, hah, hah! A *very* nice try. Not quite correct, because you missed the idiomatic use of "lanzar", and of course, the overall meaning regarding the tradition in question is very important. :-) - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

In my edit, on second thought, I believe 'lanzar' meant to eat up. No? - pesta, Jan 10, 2011

In this case, yes - although it is a somewhat atypical idiomatic use. - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 5

Given that, do you think you could try and construct the whole sentence in a meaningful way? - Gekkosan

Here in Apure they do not grow grapes, this way if you want to put in / superstition/ to throw, to release to launch/ 12 green/unripe and ready/clever/smart mangos.

Sorry Gekko: I have the pieces but couldn't figure out how to put it together! I'll keep trying though, thanks for the encouragement!

Getting closer. :-) If you find it too difficult, it's ok to peek into Lorenzo and Afowen's answers, and use them to learn about how they put the pieces together. :) - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

Answer 6

Here in Apure we do not cultivate (grow) grapes, so if you want to

The rest is about superstition, mangos, green, and ready?

I remember reading in the Lessons about the 12 grapes being eaten on the New Year, so I suppose mangos are eaten instead because their are no grapes in Apure?

You are along the right lines, yes. :-) - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011

Given that, do you think you could try and construct the whole sentence in a meaningful way? - Gekkosan, Jan 10, 2011