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Old 29th June 2017, 05:47 PM   #24
fernando
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Portugal
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Evans
...That painting is titled `El Enano De La Venta’ (The Dwarf Of Sale) by Antonio Medina and is located in the Museo Taurino De Madrid.

`The Dwarf Of Sale’ is a quaint popular expression that is based on a fictional personality and which is used to describe a person who makes bombastic threats but cannot carry them out...
A little preciousness ... if i may, Chris . The term 'Venta' has a double meaning, both in castillian and portuguese; in this context would not mean 'sale', but a place where women would buy groceries and men would spend time drinking and playing cards, or the like; a sort of tavern. This would make it more consistent with the legend of the dwarf:


Parece que antes había
En la venta del Candil
Un enano que tenía
Voz equivalente a mil.


in a strict translation:


Apparently there was
In Candil's 'tavern'
A dwarf that had
Voice equivalent to a thousand.


.
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