What does it mean to "dar agua a los manos"

Question

I found this phrase in a reading selection from don Juan Manuel, it's Spain Spanish and it's a somewhat archaic selection. The sentence is "!Perro, danos agua a las manos!" A woman is saying this to a dog..

Answer 1

Thanks for sharing that James. As a dog lover I shouldn't admit it, but that was funny. Dumb, but funny. I almost did that to my pooch the other night, When she ate something we had just cooked. But I couldn't find my sword anywhere, and by the time i'd located it, the moment had passed.

Answer 2

Does this story has a hidden meaning, if not is a dumb (with a capital D) story.

Answer 3

None of my business, but if I were trying to learn to read Spanish, I certainly wouldn't do it by reading such archaic writing. It's like reading Shakespeare to learn English. The version I posted above has been modified to more modern Spanish from the original, but it's still not well suited to learning.

Answer 4

i only wanted that phrase, i'm trying to learn to get what i can on my own. But thanks anyway, as the translation is certainly in there.

Answer 5

Here is a translation I found:

En cuanto se quedaron solos en su casa se sentaron a la mesa, mas
antes que ella abriera la boca miró el novio alrededor de sí, vio un
perro y le dijo muy airadamente:

--¡Perro, danos agua a las manos!

El perro no lo hizo. El mancebo comenzó a enfadarse y a decirle aún
con más enojo que les diese agua a las manos. El perro no lo hizo. Al
ver el mancebo que no lo hacía, se levantó de la mesa muy enfadado,
sacó la espada y se dirigió al perro. Cuando el perro le vio venir
empezó a huir y el mozo a perseguirle, saltando ambos sobre los
muebles y el fuego, hasta que lo alcanzó y le cortó la cabeza y las
patas y lo hizo pedazos, ensangrentando toda la casa.

So it came to pass, that as soon as the young people were left alone, they
seated themselves at the table, and before the dreaded bride had time to
open her lips, the bridegroom, looking behind him, saw stationed there his
favourite mastiff dog, and he said to him somewhat sharply:

? 'Mr. Mastiff, bring us some water for our hands:?

and the dog stood still, and did not do it. His master then repeated the
order more fiercely, but the dog stood still as before. His master then
leaped up in a great passion from the table, and, seizing his sword, ran
towards the mastiff, who, seeing him coming, ran away, leaping over the
chairs and tables, and fire-place, trying every place to make his escape, with
the bridegroom hard in pursuit of him. At length, reaching the dog, he smote
off his head with his sword; he then hewed off his legs, and cut up all his
body, until the whole place was covered with blood.