juegos de ojos

English translation: exchanging glances / making eyes

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:juegos de ojos
English translation:exchanging glances / making eyes
Entered by: Charles Davis

13:57 Sep 9, 2015
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Games / Video Games / Gaming / Casino
Spanish term or phrase: juegos de ojos
This is from a literary text by an Argentine writer about the drawings of an Argentine artist:

No quieren fallarle al sacerdote, que conoce a cada una de ellas por su nombre de pila. Pero no son lo que se dice devotas. O son más bien devotas del té y de los juegos de ojos. Una mesita portátil ornada de infusiones hace su aparición entre el follaje. Siguen las campanas de fondo.

There are so many hits on the web that it appears to be something quite specific, but I'm not sure what!

Thanks
Wendy Gosselin
Argentina
Local time: 11:18
exchanging glances
Explanation:
To quote Frank Sinatra (or rather whoever wrote the words to Strangers in the Night). I think this is probably what it implies. These women are into taking tea and are not very "devotas". I bet it means glancing at people, catching their eye (specifically, no doubt, young men).

"atraidas por la frialdad de sus ojos grises y que le hacian juegos de ojos y abanicos con la esperanza de que el muchacho se les acercara."
http://vidasparalelas.foros-phpbb.org/t42-2-e-4-a-4-b-y-5-d-...
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 15:18
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +7exchanging glances
Charles Davis
3 +3making eyes
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
4eye games
neilmac
2playing around with the eyes
Barbara Cochran, MFA


  

Answers


21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +7
exchanging glances


Explanation:
To quote Frank Sinatra (or rather whoever wrote the words to Strangers in the Night). I think this is probably what it implies. These women are into taking tea and are not very "devotas". I bet it means glancing at people, catching their eye (specifically, no doubt, young men).

"atraidas por la frialdad de sus ojos grises y que le hacian juegos de ojos y abanicos con la esperanza de que el muchacho se les acercara."
http://vidasparalelas.foros-phpbb.org/t42-2-e-4-a-4-b-y-5-d-...

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 15:18
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 52
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  neilmac: IF this is what it refers to... although I don't see what else it could be :)
1 hr
  -> Cheers, Neil :)

agree  Andrew Bramhall: Bert Kaempfert , to answer your question;
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Oliver! Glad to know.

agree  Olga Montes: "Exchanging glances" can be used to mean glancing at young men but also at each other; say they were in collusion or had secrets between them, etc. I would go with this.
1 hr
  -> That's true. Thanks, Olga :)

agree  Adolfo Fulco
4 hrs
  -> Many thanks, Adolfo :)

agree  jude dabo: glances!
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Jude!

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: probably
6 hrs
  -> Many thanks :)

agree  Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales: A good option, depending on the context:-) Yes, but in these cases I simply consider the source.
8 hrs
  -> Thanks, Liz :) Nice of you to post an agree. I think we know why you got a (completely unjustified) disagree!
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30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
playing around with the eyes


Explanation:
Perhaps.

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 10:18
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  neilmac: Sounds too much like "don't pick it or it'll never get better"...IYKWIM :)
56 mins
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3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
eye games


Explanation:
Literal translation.

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Note added at 3 mins (2015-09-09 14:01:09 GMT)
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https://www.google.es/search?q="eye games"&sa=X&rlz=1C1AVNG_...

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Note added at 6 mins (2015-09-09 14:03:24 GMT)
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I don't know what it is either, specifically, but I don't think you need to in order to provide a translation. Perhaps the source text will contain more information that would help narrow it down a bit...?

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Note added at 1 hr (2015-09-09 15:22:07 GMT)
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If it does refer to flirting with the gaze, perhaps Charles' suggesting works better. Surely there is something in the source text to confirm this is what they meant?

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:18
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
making eyes


Explanation:
An idea.

make eyes at someone
Fig. to flirt with someone. Mother, he's making eyes at me! Jed tried to make eyes at all the young women.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

make eyes at
Ogle, flirt with, as in To her sister's disgust, she was always making eyes at the boys. Although slightly different versions, such as throw the eye at, are much older, this precise locution was first recorded in William Makepeace Thackeray's Henry Esmond (1852): "She used to make eyes at the Duke of Marlborough."
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

make eyes at somebody
to look at someone in a way that shows them that you think they are sexually attractive (usually in continuous tenses) Sally spent the whole evening making eyes at Stephen.
Cambridge Idioms Dictionary, 2nd ed. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006. Reproduced with permission.

from:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/make eyes at

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Note added at 1 hr (2015-09-09 15:43:00 GMT)
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"...devoted to drinking tea and making eyes"

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Note added at 2 hrs (2015-09-09 16:06:13 GMT)
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My suggestion using "devoted" doesn't really address the devout/devoted issue for the actual translation, and I'm not suggesting that "devoted" is necessarily the best translation for the second "devotas".

I'd be interested in knowing what the final translation of this sentence is.



Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
Local time: 15:18
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis: I'll trade you "Strangers in the Night" for "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me" :) I do like this. (Thought it's usually followed by "at X"; is it OK on its own? I'm not sure.) // OK, then this would be my first choice — nice period feel too.
8 mins
  -> It's a deal! Yes, I've found lots of references with just "making eyes", e.g., "I'm not good at making eyes", "I'm really good at making eyes" and so on. Thanks, Charles! Thanks again!

agree  neilmac: With Charles. I've actually been listening to "Ma, He's Making Eyes at Me" recently in the car...
49 mins
  -> What a coincidence! What version? And thank you!

disagree  jude dabo: odd!
3 hrs
  -> Why? It's a perfectly correct term recognizable by any native English speaker and is a valid translation of the term within the (limited) context given.

agree  Yvonne Gallagher: there shouldn't be a disagree to this
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Gallagy!

agree  Andy Watkinson: Ok, let's say it's "odd"...who cares?
6 hrs
  -> Thanks, Andy. Good point! Why waste my efforts?
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