ir à lã e sair de lá tosquiado

English translation: went for wool and came back fleeced

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Portuguese term or phrase:ir à lã e sair de lá tosquiado
English translation:went for wool and came back fleeced
Entered by: Douglas Bissell

15:18 Nov 24, 2017
Portuguese to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Portuguese term or phrase: ir à lã e sair de lá tosquiado
“Sei que nunca se aproveita um ano de seca para renegociar caudais, chama-se a isso ir à lã e sair de lá tosquiado”, referiu, salientando, contudo, que gostaria de começar a abordar a gestão comum das águas no encontro.

please note carefully the different accents on lã and lá, which, for now, I will consider as being correct.

I presume it is something about getting fleased
Douglas Bissell
Portugal
Local time: 11:58
went for wool and came back fleeced
Explanation:
This preserves the double-entendre.

www.dictionary.com/browse/fleeced1530s in the literal sense of "to strip a sheep of fleece;" 1570s in the figurative meaning "to cheat, swindle," from fleece (n.). Related: Fleeced; fleecing.

From Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry:2fleece
Pronunciation:*
Function:transitive verb
Inflected Form:-ed/-ing/-s

1 a : to shear the fleece from (as a sheep) b : to remove (as wool) by shearing or plucking
2 a : to strip (as a person) of property by fraud or extortion : DESPOIL, PLUNDER *fleeced the church to build an estate for his sons*; sometimes : to charge excessively for service or goods *garish roadhouses where the customer knew he would be fleeced* b : to obtain by rapacious or improper means *never hesitated to fleece a fee from a poor widow*


Selected response from:

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 04:58
Grading comment
An elegant solution, thank you so much
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3went for wool and came back shorn
Salvador Scofano and Gry Midttun
4 +1went for wool and came back fleeced
Muriel Vasconcellos
4to get more than you bargained for
Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
4to jump out of the frying pan into the fire
Matheus Chaud


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to get more than you bargained for


Explanation:
.

Luciano Eduardo de Oliveira
Brazil
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 24
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27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to jump out of the frying pan into the fire


Explanation:
Não é exatamente a mesma coisa, mas é idiomático e talvez sirva.

Se o ano já está ruim (ano de seca), tentar renegociações só tende a piorar ainda mais as coisas.

Estamos tentando sair de uma situação ruim (the frying pan) achando que a coisa vai melhorar, mas acaba piorando ("into the fire"), em vez de melhorar.

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Note added at 36 mins (2017-11-24 15:55:10 GMT)
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Uma solução não idiomática talvez seja

try to make a profit, but end up getting ripped off

Matheus Chaud
Brazil
Local time: 08:58
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
went for wool and came back shorn


Explanation:
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/persian-i-went-for-w...

Salvador Scofano and Gry Midttun
Norway
Local time: 12:58
Native speaker of: Native in NorwegianNorwegian, Native in PortuguesePortuguese
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Matheus Chaud: Perfeito, aqui tem uma pequena variação: "go out for wool and come home shorn" - http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199539...
3 mins
  -> Obrigado pelo agree e pelo comentário sempre benvindo!

agree  Nick Taylor
3 hrs
  -> Obrigado!

agree  Mario Freitas:
4 hrs
  -> Obrigado!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
went for wool and came back fleeced


Explanation:
This preserves the double-entendre.

www.dictionary.com/browse/fleeced1530s in the literal sense of "to strip a sheep of fleece;" 1570s in the figurative meaning "to cheat, swindle," from fleece (n.). Related: Fleeced; fleecing.

From Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry:2fleece
Pronunciation:*
Function:transitive verb
Inflected Form:-ed/-ing/-s

1 a : to shear the fleece from (as a sheep) b : to remove (as wool) by shearing or plucking
2 a : to strip (as a person) of property by fraud or extortion : DESPOIL, PLUNDER *fleeced the church to build an estate for his sons*; sometimes : to charge excessively for service or goods *garish roadhouses where the customer knew he would be fleeced* b : to obtain by rapacious or improper means *never hesitated to fleece a fee from a poor widow*




Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 04:58
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 66
Grading comment
An elegant solution, thank you so much

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Gilmar Fernandes: Spot on!
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Gilmar!
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