Doblar la espalda vs ensuciarse las manos
I am working on translating an inspirational quote which says: The future belongs to those few who are still willing to get their hands dirty.
I translated it to: El futuro pertenece a aquellos pocos que todavía están dispuestos a esuciarse las manos.
Because "getting your hands dirty" is an idiom, I understand that it doesn't translate to Spanish in the same meaning that it would have in English. A friend of mine is Cuban and said they use "doblar la espalda" to mean roughly the same thing.
Is there another/better way to say "get your hands dirty" without the potential meaning of doing something illegal?
1 Answer
Hello Nathaniel,
I agree. "Doblar la espalda" means 'to work hard'. No illegal connotation.
Also "arremangarse" (to roll up one's sleeves) means that one person is not scared of hard work. "dispuesto a arremangarse." And it is totally neutral (legally).
I hope this will help.
By the way... I always thought that 'get your hands dirty' had an illegal connotation. A little bit at least.
Saludos.
