"Pajarito lloviznado"

Question

I feel just like Jeezle, asking this question.

I'm having lunch in a place where they have the TV on, and an awful Mexican Novela is playing.

An older man was talking to a young girl, and asked her this delightful question:

"¿Por qué tienes mirada de pajarito lloviznado?"

Can you guess what that means, and why he might have said that to her?

Native Spanish speakers please refrain from providing the answer!

awwww ;) - cogumela, Mar 30, 2011

Whaaaat's the answerrrrrRR!!! Jaja, I'm goin' crazy... can a native take a guess now? jeje - DJ_Huero, Mar 31, 2011

Answer 1

Just a guess...

To me, it looks literally to be something along the lines of "looking like a little (lost) bird left out in the rain" (or probably a bit more literally: 'Why do you have the look of a little rained on bird?')

If this is the case then I suppose that it might mean something like sad and pitiful, and possibly trembling.

Right, yes. She looked sad and fornlorn, or "sad and crestfallen", which is what Luciente wrote - but she wrote it in a comment, and not in her actual answer! - Gekkosan, Mar 31, 2011

I think a wet rat looks disgustind, and maybe miserable, but mostly dishevelled and not very attractive. Pajarito Lloviznado was used in this case because the girl had a sad, listless kind of demeanor, but she was not wet, dishevelled, angry, scowling... - Gekkosan, Mar 31, 2011

..grumpy nor sulky. Just dispirited. - Gekkosan, Mar 31, 2011

Answer 2

Why do you look like a rained on bird?

In English, which sounds meaner, it would be "Why do you look like a wet rat?"

Sounds like she was soaking wet and looked disheveled.

EDIT: Expanding from a comment: Maybe she is giving him a sad or pathetic look, like she is crestfallen or scowling at him, like an animal that is sad/angry when wet.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/look+like+a+drowned+rat ....is the more common phrasing - 0074b507, Mar 30, 2011

The two idioms are not really quite equivalent, Q. Drowned rat is bit more extreme. :-) - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Well, which one is it? Sad, pathetic, crestfallen or scowling? Sad or Angry? :-) - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Yo no sé!! For me, looking like a "wet rat" could be either one... depressed/pathetic that you are wet or annoyed that you are wet. To me, the English phrase could mean either. - Luciente, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 3

I'll give it a shot.

Why are you looking at me like (borrowing from Luciente) a rained on bird?

Maybe he was staring at him for no reason at all, with "puppy dog eyes."

Ooooh, this makes me wonder... is the "mirada" the way she looks or the look she is giving? Because if it is the look on her face, maybe she just looked sad/crestfallen. - Luciente, Mar 30, 2011

I'm really not sure. I guess I just went for the less obvious answer, which of course doesn't necessarily ensure its correctness. - Deanski, Mar 30, 2011

Why don't you post an answer, Luciente, and explain your theory? ;-) - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

I really suck at these guessing games........... - Deanski, Mar 31, 2011

Answer 4

I'm not sure if this is too similar to what has already been posted, but did she look like she had been crying?

This is pretty close, but no, she has not been crying, and does not look like she's been crying. - Gekkosan, Mar 31, 2011

Answer 5

I agree with the person above. She must have just come in from the rain.

Nope. She's not wet, and it isn't raining. - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 6

Hmm... when I was younger and I was grumpy or sulking, my grandma always used to say to me: "You've got a face like a wet duck's bum" (charming, I know ) so I wonder if this is similar... Was the girl in the show looking grumpy or sulky?

Very nice guess. This girl, however, is not sulking, nor grumpy. :-) - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Hmmm, well, maybe I am stumped. - Luciente, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 7

"Why do you have a look like a wet bird"

Meaning, why you looking like that, with the grumpy or sulky face, OR possibly stunned or dumbfounded. For a lack of better words, it looks something similar to this...

jejeje, sounds good, but I am sure they already got it, lol, sounds chinese to me - 00494d19, Mar 30, 2011

Nice try, and more or less in the right direction, but not quite right. - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 8

I wonder how does this expression compare to other similar expressions such as:

?"Cara de viernes" which the RAE gives as "La macilenta y triste" and which I imagine probably originates in the traditions (such as fasting) of Good Friday

?"Cara larga" which the RAE gives as "La que expresa tristeza o contrariedad" which I suppose is somewhat similar to the English expression "long face" as in, "Why the long face?"

Sure, he could have gone for something like this. "¿Por qué la cara larga?", for example. But he chose a humorous simile instead, which did win him a wan smile from the girl. - Gekkosan, Mar 31, 2011

Answer 9

Native Spanish speakers please refrain from providing the answer!

Come again?

I haven't got a clue. ejeje

I doubt it.:) - Deanski, Mar 30, 2011

¡Al menos una idea seguro haz de tener! :-D - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 10

¡Hola!, Gekko:

I do not have any idea what your sentence

"¿Por qué tienes mirada de pajarito lloviznado?"

might mean.

But, it raised some "Say, what?" in me. The sentence uses no definite (el, la, los, las) or indefinite (un, una, unos, unas,) articles. So it made me wonder if that is how people actually speak. That is, without the def/indef articles.

??/??

Moe

I'll answer this a bit later. - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 11

pt.2 A Mexican friend of mine told me, it's like you're daydreaming. Like if you've ever seen a bird just sittin' there chillin' all spaced out. She told me this after I told her the situation.

No, this girl wasn't daydreaming, chilling or spaced out. She was paying attention to the old man. - Gekkosan, Mar 30, 2011

Answer 12

To answer Moe's question:

But, it raised some "Say, what?" in me. The sentence uses no definite (el, la, los, las) or indefinite (un, una, unos, unas,) articles. So it made me wonder if that is how people actually speak. That is, without the def/indef articles.

Yes, people obviously speak like that - but of course not always. The best answer I am able to give you is that this is a formula of sorts, for expressing similes. Right now, I can't think of any other uses for that sort of construction.

So for example:

"Está como pájaro en grama": this is used to describe a person who is clearly waiting for something that's not forthcoming, like a bird on the grass who is constantly stopping and looking all around.

"Está como agua para chocolate" - very hot, boiling mad.

"Como anillo al dedo" - fits perfectly

"Está como palito de gallinero" - I won't explain this one because it's rather vulgar, but it means to be scared.

Answer 13

I think Becky got the answer:

Why are you crying?

Oops, didn't read your comment. - 00d7cd75, Mar 31, 2011

:-) - Gekkosan, Mar 31, 2011

Answer 14

One last try?

Well, I have a bit of a puzzle here, because in a sense, the right answer has already been provided. But it has not been stated in a definite way as an answer to the question, so I can't accept it!

Is anyone (non-native) willing to give it another shot, after giving due consideration to all the answers and comments provided thus far?