Translation help "para meter dentro"

Question

I am reading Cuentos de la Selva by Horacio Quiroga. In the following sentence, can someone please explain the use of "meter dentro"? Isn't that the same as saying "put inside inside of"?

"... [el hombre] vio a la orilla de una gran laguna un tigre enorme que quería comer una tortuga, y la ponía parada de canto para meter dentro una pata y sacar la carne con las uñas."

Answer 1

The tiger wanted to eat the turtle so he stood it up on end (or edgewise) so he could put his paw in and take out the flesh with his claws.

My graphic shows a leopard---but "close enough." )

OH! The translation I keep finding for "la ponía parada de canto" is to "put stop to his singing". Now I see that definition for canto when I read more into the dictionary. ¡Muchas gracias! I knew I was missing a lot from this sentence! - Echomike, Oct 5, 2016

Answer 2

Although for whatever reason it is taught that meter= put in- I think it better to consider it as working like insert.

Normally with meter you use en.

Meter en by your scheme would be put in in. I would prefer insert in(to).

In this sentence, using por for through, from our dictionary, you can see that insert through would work. Put in through might, but it is a little redundant.

Jorge metió el brazo por la verja para alcanzar la fruta Jorge stuck his arm through the railings to reach the fruit.

So meter dentro could simply be intsert inside.

Anyway meter usually has a preposition associated, and dentro just in one possible replacement for en. I think en could be used in you sentence as well instead actually.

Muchas gracias. ¡Ahora necesito trabajar en el uso de las preposiciónes! - Echomike, Oct 4, 2016