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no podrá meter ni las manos

English translation: will fall flat on his face

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:no podrá meter ni las manos
English translation:will fall flat on his face
Entered by: Thomas Walker

00:20 Aug 19, 2016
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Government / Politics / Current affairs
Spanish term or phrase: no podrá meter ni las manos
I encountered this expression in an opinion piece in a Mexican newspaper, about the US presidential election. It concerns a proposal by a coalition of 56 scientific organizations to ask the presidential candidates to respond to a list of 20 questions involving science, technology, and innovation; and maybe later to have a forum to discuss these issues. I think I have a pretty good handle on what the phrase means - "he [Trump] won't be able to do much", or "won't be able to do anything" - but I'm having a hard time coming up with an English equivalent that satisfies me.
Here's the context:
"Aunque las preguntas están planteadas en una forma muy educada y amable, me parece que si la candidata del Partido Demócrata y el aspirante republicano a la presidencia aceptan participar, se puede prever que ocurrirá una masacre, en la que Donald Trump ***no podrá meter ni las manos…*** A menos que en lapso muy corto de tiempo, sus asesores lo obliguen a virar completamente en sus concepciones científicas, lo cual de todas maneras podría considerarse una derrota a los ojos de algunos electores."
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thomas Walker
United States
Local time: 19:11
won't be able to do anything about it / will fall flat on his face
Explanation:
The phrase "no meter ni los manos" is used in Mexico to describe the moment when someone falls over or is attacked without managing to put a hand up in front of them to protect their face. I don't think you can use the "fall flat on his face" metaphor here as the first part talks about him being "slaughtered", so perhaps simply "he won't be able to do a thing about it" would work.
It basically means he'll be defenseless.

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Note added at 58 mins (2016-08-19 01:18:35 GMT)
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Perhaps you could use "he won't have a hope" or "he won't have the slightest chance" i.e. of coming out of with any credibility, or even "he'll get beaten to a pulp" or something along those lines.
Selected response from:

Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 20:11
Grading comment
Thanks, Robert, & everyone who contributed - a lively & helpful discussion. Based on the overall tenor of the piece, I went with "flat on his face"
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5won't be able to do anything about it / will fall flat on his face
Robert Carter
4 +4will be a sitting duck
Charles Davis
4will be at a loss to defend himself
Muriel Vasconcellos
4they'll make mincemeat out of him / he'll be like a lamb to the slaughter
Carol Gullidge
3despite his economic standing, he is lost anyway
lugoben
3he will be powerless - helpless - impotent / he will be bound hand and foot (metaphorically)
JohnMcDove
2will not even be able to have any impact on
Barbara Cochran, MFA


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


56 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
despite his economic standing, he is lost anyway


Explanation:
Esta expresión significa que ni el dinero que posee lo sacará del apuro. Meter la mano en el sentido de poder cambiar el resultado aún por el poder económico e influencias que posee.

lugoben
Local time: 22:11
Native speaker of: Spanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Robert Carter: I think you've misunderstood the idea here. It's talking about being able to address questions about science and technology, areas in which he's completely ignorant, e.g. climate change, vaccines, etc. Saludos.
9 mins
  -> You may be right, I forgot to include all information. Thanks
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
won't be able to do anything about it / will fall flat on his face


Explanation:
The phrase "no meter ni los manos" is used in Mexico to describe the moment when someone falls over or is attacked without managing to put a hand up in front of them to protect their face. I don't think you can use the "fall flat on his face" metaphor here as the first part talks about him being "slaughtered", so perhaps simply "he won't be able to do a thing about it" would work.
It basically means he'll be defenseless.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 58 mins (2016-08-19 01:18:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Perhaps you could use "he won't have a hope" or "he won't have the slightest chance" i.e. of coming out of with any credibility, or even "he'll get beaten to a pulp" or something along those lines.

Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 20:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 100
Grading comment
Thanks, Robert, & everyone who contributed - a lively & helpful discussion. Based on the overall tenor of the piece, I went with "flat on his face"

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Muriel Vasconcellos: I like 'will fall flat on his face'.
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Muriel.
agree  philgoddard: Flat on his face is perfect. I wonder if it's also a reference to his famous hands.
7 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phil, you may have a point, although it doesn't mention his "diminutivas manos" :-)
agree  Carol Gullidge: I like "… flat on his face", or perhaps even something like "left totally floundering" or "… out of his depth"//hmmh, in that case how about st like "like a lamb to the slaughter"?
9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Carol. My only problem with all of these, my own effort included, is that they don't quite chime with the preceding "masacre" metaphor.
agree  James A. Walsh: Yep, "flat on his face"
11 hrs
  -> Thanks, James.
agree  JohnMcDove: Not a chance in Hell, despite any warning or warming signs!!! :-)
2 days 3 hrs
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
will not even be able to have any impact on


Explanation:
Quizás.

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Note added at 15 mins (2016-08-19 00:35:12 GMT)
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"will not be able to do anything about (it)"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2016-08-19 01:23:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"won't be able to have any impact on the outcome"

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 22:11
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 23
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
will be at a loss to defend himself


Explanation:
I think this captures the meaning more accurately, though it's not an idiom.

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 19:11
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 468
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
will be a sitting duck


Explanation:
Really just another synonymous phrase to add to Robert's collection, but the Spanish expression seems to me to call for quite a colloquial register, and I like this particular option for several reasons: it's idiomatic, it expresses the idea of Trump being an easy and inept target, and (I must admit) I like the idea of Donald as a duck. It kind of puts him in his place.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2016-08-19 05:26:06 GMT)
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I really don't agree with Muriel's objection to this phrase in context. She says a sitting duck is a targeted object—well, the same is true of Trump, who will have questions fired at him. What the Spanish means is that Trump won't be able to give effective answers to the questions put to him. He will be helpless to defend himself. Surely when you call someone a sitting duck you mean precisely that: the person is an easy target with no effective means of defence. A sitting duck isn't trying to defend itself? Really? It would if it could, but it can't. Just like Trump.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 04:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 276

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robert Carter: Nice one Charles! I had thought of "a deer in the headlights" but it doesn't work with the massacre metaphor, whereas this one does.
14 mins
  -> That's very nice of you, Robert. Cheers :)
neutral  Muriel Vasconcellos: It's because of his style. I see the man all the time and he never stops moving; when he's caught he wiggles and squirms. His ghost writer said he fidgets constantly and has the attention span of a gnat. I can't see him sitting still to be a target.
3 hrs
  -> No. Trump, like a sitting duck, may try defend himself but won't be able to. // But none of that's relevant. You're taking the metaphor too literally. It simply means easy to shoot at, with no effective defence; it doesn't imply sitting still at all.
agree  neilmac: Almost any metaphor that involves shotguns and DT is fine by me... :)
8 hrs
  -> My sentiments precisely. Cheers, Neil ;)
agree  Heather Oland
10 hrs
  -> Thanks, Heather :)
agree  JohnMcDove: Concept is clear, besides any literal interpretation. Better "sitting duck" than "Sitting Bull"... We don't particularly want a Little Bighorn déjà vu... ;-) /../ You're welcome, Charles. Uffff... Let's be ready to experience whatever it happens...
2 days 2 hrs
  -> He can't get elected, can he? But I thought Brexit couldn't happen, and it did... Thanks, John ;)
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
they'll make mincemeat out of him / he'll be like a lamb to the slaughter


Explanation:
i.e., he'll be annihilated; he won't stand a chance

…

Following Robert's response to my suggestions regarding his answer I decided to post this as a separate suggestion rather than merely a peer response, as I don't quite regard this as merely a synonym of earlier suggestions

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Note added at 14 hrs (2016-08-19 15:12:36 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OOPS, forgot this: "make mincemeat of
phrase of mincemeat
1.
informal
defeat decisively in a fight, contest, or argument.
"a hostile Public Prosecutor would make mincemeat of her""

Carol Gullidge
United Kingdom
Local time: 03:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 84
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2 days 3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
he will be powerless - helpless - impotent / he will be bound hand and foot (metaphorically)


Explanation:
Utterly unable -- to do anything.

Quedará atado de pies y manos...

estar atado de pies y manos - to be bound hand and foot
have one's hands tied

Another couple of options.

He will be inevitably trumped.



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Note added at 2 days3 hrs (2016-08-21 04:18:55 GMT)
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The other "heated" versions could be (as in my agree to Robert)

he will have not a chance in Hell...

Or
he will be hoisted with his own petard (a bit freer) ... his own petardSSSS

JohnMcDove
United States
Local time: 19:11
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 16
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