Creo que se os va la olla
I know it is frustrating for some non-English speakers who want to write to this blog in other languages(especially Spanish) but, this being a Times operation, I think we have to stick to comments and e-mails in English or else I could spend my days trying to translate all these messages.
This one-liner - "Creo que se os va la olla" - has been sitting in my computer for a few days with me not knowing what to do with it.(I have accidentally deleted the master copy and so I can't remember who sent it to me or what Post it was referring to. The most likely is this one about the sudden downturn in messages from my Spanish correspondents which, since it was published, has, happily, been reversed).
Anyway I thought of calling my Venezuelan cousin - who works in New York - but that seemed a bit ridiculous and, anyhow, this was from Spain not Caracas. Then last night I happened to get a call from an old friend who works in Dubai who is English but who speaks Spanish.
I asked him what it meant and he was stumped to begin with. His first attempt was: "You are losing your saucepan." This seemed unlikely, although possible. After a bit more thought he changed this to: "I think you are losing your casserole dish." Again, I was sceptical.
Not wanting to be found wanting, he called his Catalan girlfriend in Barcelona who laughed when he told her what we were trying to translate. He then sent me this e-mail: "I have just confirmed with the chica who says that 'Creo que se os va la olla' is very slang and contemporary, written by someone young. Not abusive, just cool. I suppose 'what planet are you on?', if that were not a rather out-of-date expression...It made her laugh a lot. Note that the 'os' suggests 'you' plural ie not just Ed Gorman but The Times as a whole, and perhaps the entire British race."
So there we have it. My friend guessed it might be from southern Spain(?). This morning we spoke again and we checked through a few other English expressions that might suit. "You are off your rocker", "you've lost the plot", "you're off your trolley" and so on.
It's been fun tracking it down but, the point is, it has to be in English to get published here...
Now that's a funny story! But I wonder what the article was about... Actually, it's definitely a slang word, but not from southern Spain, but from anywhere in Spain. It's quite common, but I wouldn't use it unless I'm talking to close friends. My english teacher told me once that it's like 'I think you're going nuts' But I just don't know if it's too informal, sorry... By the way, I'd like to know what's going to happen with Silverstone next year, because I regard it as one of the best racetracks.
Posted by: Rafael Palacios | 10 Jul 2007 10:12:47
LMAO. Agreed! "Se os va la olla" could be best translated as "you're going nuts". It's not only used by youngsters but adults too.
"Olla" is Spanish slang for "head".
I wonder what else that naughty Spanish correspondent has sent The Times. How impolite!
Posted by: Antonio | 10 Jul 2007 12:44:54
Rafael, Silverstone is safe next year and in 2009. It is only after that that it's contract with Bernie runs out. Just for your information, having spent a bit of time talking to people about it during the weekend, I would be quite surprised of Silverstone does get the chop. It seems possible the circuit owners, the BRDC, will do just enough, just is time, to meet Bernie's requirements and guarantee a contract renewal for 1010 and onwards.
Posted by: ed gorman | 10 Jul 2007 12:48:06
Ha ha very amusing.
Agreed if people are able to read the English article they should have the ability to reply in the same language. Also it reduces the interaction between readers if people can not understand each other.
Posted by: James | 10 Jul 2007 13:11:27
Some examples of why "Se os (te) va la olla"
1- "Se te va la olla" with a beautiful girl.
2- "Se te va la olla" with the Hamilton's start in F1.
3- "Se te va la olla" if you win 1 million euros with lottery.
4- "Se te va la olla" is also like "Give it up, pal"
But never is something unpolite, it is specially young slang, but very used in spain, specially in the south.
Posted by: Emilio, spanish in USA | 10 Jul 2007 15:25:50
Hello Ed. First of all I have to say a big thank you for being honest and not very much passionate in your F1 comments. I'm a journalist myself and I really appreciate this, that's the reason I still read you every week.
As Spanish I confirm "Creo que se os va la olla" could mean "You're going nuts" or "You are starting to be insane".
Thank you very much. And don't forget: Alonso will win this championship even though his team is clearly supporting his teammate.
Posted by: Manuel Morillas | 10 Jul 2007 15:33:39
That is hilarious, where is such sentence coming from? I mean, I am spanish and I know thoroughly what this guy want to say, but to be honest, I would like to read the source for this "se os va la olla" in order to get a precise connotation because although it is generally polite it could also be regarded in a very negative sense,
Posted by: otoelpiloto | 10 Jul 2007 16:17:02
Hello Mr. Gorman,
There was something that happened in Silverstone, and probably in Magny Cours as well that attracted my attention.
On friday, Alonso laptimes were very very bad, I think he finished sixth, one second or more behind Raikonnen and 0.6 behind the "phenomenon". During saturday and sunday his car settings were perfect and he did a great job in Silverstone. I think it happened the same in France but due to the technical problems Fernando had we don't really know.
The point is that Fernando complained about Hamilton some time ago, accusing him of copying his car settings.
In my opinion, Alonso is hiding his cards on fridays, giving Hamilton less time to check Alonso's telemetry and use it to improve his own settings.
Hamilton lost a lot of time during the race in Silverstone, and he admitted that the reason was a problem with the setup. Perhaps it was only a mistake and it will not happen any more but if the difference between a car adjusted by fernando or Lewis is 35 seconds... the second part of the championship will be a nightmare for your boy.
Best regards,
Juan
Posted by: Alicante | 10 Jul 2007 17:57:27
tee hee tee hee. Mr. Gorman, i recommend you a Spanish book titled "From Lost to the River" that explores that catchphrases.
They are very usual in Spanish and sometimes it is really cool to translate them directly into English and use it in everyday conversations.
Keep up the good work! Your blog is really fun to read.
Posted by: shinobi | 10 Jul 2007 20:16:32
What I think your spanish correspondent wanted to point out is that your "wave" (Hamilton´s wave) is going out of fashion after Kimmi's 2 wins. ( the best translation into english would be - Your wave is fading ).
Posted by: Tiko Woods | 10 Jul 2007 23:11:58
Hi everybody!! Maybe my english is not good enough but I´ll try to explain what "se te va la olla" really meants. It is just slang, polite, but slang..
It is used in all the spanish geography, south and north, it does not matter. the sentence means you are going nuts! exactly... But is said in a funny way, like joking..
I do not really know, but from my point of view , the spanish guy try to say that you are living in a dream, you must wait a little bit. hamilton is a very very good driver. But you have to wait. Take out some pressure from him. he is good , but i am reading in some english newspapers that he is the new Shumi, he will be the best in histoy... come on!!! we will see!!! step by step. QUE NO SE OS VAYA LA OLLA!!!
Posted by: Juan Morilla | 11 Jul 2007 11:50:24
So telling your boss: "Mr Jones, I think you're going nuts". (Señor Pérez, creo que se le ha ido la olla)is not impolite? LMAO. It is impolite, isn´t it?
On the other hand, if you tell a mate "se te ha ido la olla" (you're going nuts) then OK, no problem. So it depends on the situation and who you say it to.
Posted by: Antonio | 11 Jul 2007 13:37:15
Hi everybody!! Maybe my english is not good enough but I´ll try to explain what "se te va la olla" really meants. It is just slang, polite, but slang..
It is used in all the spanish geography, south and north, it does not matter. the sentence means you are going nuts! exactly... But is said in a funny way, like joking..
I do not really know, but from my point of view , the spanish guy try to say that you are living in a dream, you must wait a little bit. hamilton is a very very good driver. But you have to wait. Take out some pressure from him. he is good , but i am reading in some english newspapers that he is the new Shumi, he will be the best in histoy... come on!!! we will see!!! step by step. QUE NO SE OS VAYA LA OLLA!!!
Posted by: Juan Morilla | 11 Jul 2007 14:15:26
Ha ha ha XD
It amused me so much to see a so common everyday slang, so Spaniard in a way, posted here. In fact it summarizes the opinion of most Spanish readers of this blog (vamos chicos...) Oh dear! ha ha ha
Anyway, it could be used in several ways, even in jest. But I've been doing some research and found yet another feasible translations,
"You're freaking out (about Hamilton feats)"
"You're definitely on a high"
"You're going ga ga (about ibid)"
Going nuts (about ibid) is ok, but I think it lacks the silly mood of the Spanish "se os va la olla/se os va la pinza", which makes it so funny.
Typical Spanish behaviour, a short half or full scathing and hilarious sentence ignoring any politeness, just to make a firm statement... and somehow poking fun at somebody, I must confess.
Anyway, we all agree about using English here. There must be some reciprocity when it comes to think about Britons posting to Spanish media (doing their best actually).
Great job Ed, a big thank you.
PS, "and perhaps the entire British race." Definitely.
Posted by: Manolo Sobrino | 12 Jul 2007 02:46:54
I am spanish too, and although my english is not too good, i moreless can read your comments and i think that we have to write here in english. Mr Gorman hasn't the obligation to know spanish.
I think that it is good to know other opinions in F1 and in addition I learn expressions in English ("To be going nuts" by example)
In reference to the F1, I hope that Alonso could win Hamilton, but I see it difficult. We will have to wait if Lewis fails in the next races. And moreover Ferrari are "in crescendo".
Best regards and sorry my bad english.
Posted by: Carlos_Zgz | 12 Jul 2007 10:37:19
The origin of "Se te va la olla", OTOELPILOTO, is an analogy. " The head is sometimes referred to as "tarro" (jar) or "olla" (pot). It's viewed as a "container" where people keep their memories, thoughts, etc
"Irse la olla" refers to "ollas a presión" (express cookers), that need to have the heat reduced after reaching a certain temperature. Originally said about housewives engaged with the telephone or TV rather than minding the kitchen, with disastrous consecuences ("habla tanto que se le va la olla/talks so much that she burns the food"), became extended to mean "brain overheating" and not only distraction ("Pepe se come el coco demasiado/he brews things too much"), which is its main meaning nowadays.
An example, possibly, is that horrendous start by Alonso that took him from 2nd to 10th.
Posted by: I Rodriguez | 22 Jul 2007 12:28:14
and perhaps the entire British race."
Can we talk about human races? Let's speak about race ...cars
Posted by: Jose | 22 Jul 2007 16:00:24
LOL, that's a funny story.
"Creo que se te va la olla" could be translated as "I think you are going nuts" or something like that.
It is used all over Spain and mostly by young people. And it isn't offensive at all.
Posted by: Isabel | 23 Jul 2007 13:01:48
Oh, I forgot, "olla" (saucepan) is the young slang word for head, as somebody pointed above.
Posted by: Isabel | 23 Jul 2007 13:02:42
Other tipical spanish Phrase:
Donde tenga las olla no metas la polla
XD
Posted by: Tor | 23 Jul 2007 15:35:56
"se te va la olla" it´s more like "you are crazy".
Salutes from spanish guy ^^
Posted by: Xardas | 23 Jul 2007 20:00:46
Ha, ha, ha.
Posted by: TOR said it right | 24 Jul 2007 11:00:43
No, TOR didn't say it right. His sentence, apart from being impolite and rude, is grammatically incorrect and doesn't exist in Spanish. He's made it up.
Ed,I think you should check some posts before putting them up, especially those that are not in English.
Posted by: Antonio | 24 Jul 2007 11:48:20
Antonio has a good point. The original idea of this post was to remind everyone that this blog is delivered in English, as part of a British newspaper. So, just to make the point again, we won't publish any comments with phrases in them which are not expressed in English.
This post, which is not about motor racing, has produced more responses than any other on this blog. Maybe we should widen the blog to a permanent discussion on Anglo-Spanish affairs. For example how cheap tourism has ruined much of Spain and how the Brits have been amongst the biggest customers of that trade.
On second thoughts, let's not do that. Let's stick to the racing....
Posted by: Ed Gorman | 24 Jul 2007 11:56:33