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Punitiva
sistema local de itinerarios de inserción socio-laboral
Dec 9, 2017 00:25
6 yrs ago
6 viewers *
Spanish term

El que da primero da dos veces

Spanish to English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Sayings
Hi all.

Doing some crowdsourcing here because this little phrase has undeservedly taken up too much of my time already.
I found that this is might originally be a Czech saying, if that helps at all.

In the ST, this saying follows the heading "LA VALENTÍA TIENE PREMIO", which I gather is another saying, and I've translated as "BOLDNESS HAS ITS REWARDS", but which I also think might reasonably be translated as "FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD/BRAVE".

I'm rubbish at these, can anyone help me out?
Proposed translations (English)
2 Strike while the iron is hot

Discussion

Robert Carter (asker) Dec 18, 2017:
@Charles No problem, and thanks for that suggestion. You have a pretty good ear for idioms yourself.
Charles Davis Dec 9, 2017:
Whoops Sorry, Robert, I hadn't noticed that you'd already seen and cited that question. Anyway, "he who hits first hits hardest" would be my choice, without a comma and without an article.
Charles Davis Dec 9, 2017:
La valentía tiene premio Definitely "fortune favors the brave", IMO (it sounds more natural and familiar to me with "brave" than with "bold", but that's probably just me). And actually "valentía" is bravery rather than boldness.
Charles Davis Dec 9, 2017:
@Rachel The answerer of this previous question agrees too, though with "strikes" instead of "hits", and says it's a "well-known phrase in UK English" (I'm not sure I'd quite go that far). Henry Hinds, who had a very good ear for US English, suggested "he who hits first hits hardest", and personally I prefer it like that without "the". Anyway, it's definitely worth taking a look at this question:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/other/306287-e...
Rachel Fell Dec 9, 2017:
I agree with "he who hits first hits the hardest", without the comma
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro Dec 9, 2017:
You look fine! I just checked your profile.
BTW, I also found this: "First to strike, last to fall/die", in case it helps.
As for the second saying, "Fortune favours the bold/brave" works fine IMO.
Robert Carter (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
Thank you, Helena, I think that must mean something's up. I'm going to try calling instead. I can't do anything related with my profile, that includes submitting support requests, although strangely, I still seem to be able to post here in the discussion.
Helena Chavarria Dec 9, 2017:
@Robert I've just visited my profile and it's fine. I've also visted yours and everything seems to be ok.
Robert Carter (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
Help request This is off-topic, but is anyone else able to view their own profiles on this site at the moment? My photo just disappeared from the upper right corner of the page and now I can't open my profile at all. I clicked on the proz.com profile link in an email from an previously unknown recipient, and I think I may have been hacked, or perhaps I'm just sleep deprived. Would someone mind checking this for me please, as I am unable to post a support ticket either.
Charles Davis Dec 9, 2017:
Get your retaliation in first No, I'm not serious, but it's definitely idiomatic, though UK. It was the motto of the British Lions when they beat the All Blacks in NZ in 1971, the only time they've ever done so. It was probably coined by the coach, Carwyn James. It was quoted later by the immortal Arthur Daley in Minder: "Get your retaliation in first, Ray - basic rule of English fair-play".
Marcelo González Dec 9, 2017:
'He who hits first, hits hardest' ...captures the essence, sounds natural (even if it may not be as commonly used), and does so with a higher frequency (and lower register) verb than 'strike.'
Andy Watkinson Dec 9, 2017:
I'd always heard "He who strikes first wins"
Robert Carter (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
Ha ha, I didn't check that. I think "he who strikes..." sounds familiar, but I've looked at this for too long now and I'm not sure what sounds idiomatic anymore. I think there must be something better anyway. When you come at these fresh, they usually just trip off your tongue.
Helena Chavarria Dec 9, 2017:
“He Who Hits First, Hits Twice” seems to be more common.

https://myfopinion.wordpress.com/2015/01/14/je-suis-charlie-...
Helena Chavarria Dec 9, 2017:
"he who hits first, hits the hardest" gets five hits.
Helena Chavarria Dec 9, 2017:
According to what I've just seen, "He who strikes first, strikes twice" is a Mexican proverb, though there are number of variations:

Strong is the one who strikes first

The one who strikes first wins

“It is said that the one who strikes first will gain the initiative
Robert Carter (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
From that expression, I've just found this previous entry:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish_to_english/other/306287-e...

I'm looking for US English here, so perhaps "he who hits first, hits hardest"?
Robert Carter (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
Ah, thanks Helena, you found that phrase too, although I hadn't seen the link you posted.
Robert Carter (asker) Dec 9, 2017:
I've just come across the phrase "He who strikes first, strikes twice", but I've never heard this expression before anywhere. Can anyone confirm whether it's idiomatic?
Helena Chavarria Dec 9, 2017:
Have you seen this? It's very similar to "Fortune Favors the Bold" and "He who hesitates is lost." All 3 proverbs basically mean the same thing... the one who strikes first gains the advantage.

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110306110113A...

Proposed translations

12 hrs

Strike while the iron is hot

Declined
Kind of fits maybe.

to take advantage of an opportunity as soon as it exists, in case the opportunity goes away and does not return:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/strike-w...

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Note added at 9 days (2017-12-18 08:57:43 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I realise it was bending it a bit.

How about:
Whoever can surprise well must conquer.
John Paul Jones
Note from asker:
An interesting idea, but I'm not sure it entirely captures the meaning in the Spanish. Thank you, Wendy!
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