Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Y para prueba, un botón.

English translation:

One need look no further than...

Added to glossary by Thomas Walker
May 8, 2017 23:02
7 yrs ago
Spanish term

Y para prueba, un botón.

Spanish to English Other Government / Politics Current events
This is from an op-ed piece in a Mexican newspaper. The broad subject is U.S. foreign policy toward Latin America.
I feel like I kind of almost have a feel for what this phrase conveys, but I'm uncertain, & I can't really nail down a good English equivalent. "Para prueba", probably "for/as proof". But, "as proof, a button"? I hadn't run across this phrase before, but it seems to be pretty common - a Bing search got 7,000+ hits. None that I looked at helped me understand what it means, though...
Here's the paragraph:

Luego de las últimas acciones de Trump en Siria y Afganistán, muchos siguen creyendo que la política exterior estadunidense con América Latina será de segundo orden en las prioridades del Pentágono. Pero no. Ni mucho menos. ***Y para prueba, un botón.*** En su reporte anual al Congreso, el almirante Kurt Tidd, actual comandante del Comando Sur, declaró abiertamente: Planteado de manera simple, los desafíos para la seguridad en la región (América Latina) probablemente se transformen en desafíos al interior de la frontera de Estados Unidos. Dicho de otro modo, en clave militar, se da una vuelta de tuerca más a la nunca abandonada doctrina monroista. En virtud de un planteamiento geopolítico de largo plazo para América Latina, el actual gobierno estadunidense actualiza la noción de patio trasero.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Discussion

12316323 (X) May 9, 2017:
Oh, you're right. I'm sorry. I'd missed Tom's comment about his search results. According to him, he was struggling with both the Spanish meaning and the English translation, so, in theory, both searches should have helped. And, yes, searching in Spanish is certainly helpful! You'll often see Spanish speakers from one country explaining a regional word or phrase to Spanish speakers from another country. A good tip.
Peter Riccomini May 9, 2017:
@Kathryn You're misinterpreting my comment. It just means what it says. Tom says that none his search results tells him what the expression means. My suggestion gives the results he is looking for. Just trying to be helpful. No subtext.
12316323 (X) May 9, 2017:
I don't think that's a fair point. Why would Kudoz even exist if all the answers are already on the internet? Knowing what something means is different from knowing how to best translate it (knowledge of Spanish v. knowledge of English, and both are necessary for good translations). Any native Spanish speaker would know what this phrase means, but, curiously, none suggested translations. The phrase basically means "for example," but I think the specific context required something more idiomatic and with greater finesse.
Peter Riccomini May 9, 2017:
Internet search tip Try 'que significa para prueba, un botón'. Lots of hits.

Proposed translations

+9
4 mins
Selected

One need look no further than...

One need look no further than Admiral Kurt Tidd's annual report to Congress...

Those interested in X need look no further than Admiral Kurt Tidd's annual report to Congress...

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Note added at 8 mins (2017-05-08 23:11:31 GMT)
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It's a common phrase here in Colombia, and universally, I believe. Here, it's "para la prueba, un botón."

Another option I've just thought of: "To give but one example,..."

However, I prefer my first suggestion.

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Note added at 28 mins (2017-05-08 23:31:04 GMT)
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*My mistake- here, and in many other countries, it's "Para la muestra, un botón."
Peer comment(s):

agree Robert Carter : That too... :-)
0 min
Thanks, Robert :)
agree Michael Powers (PhD) : Nicely worded, Kathryn. Mike :)
14 mins
Thank you, Mike!
agree Muriel Vasconcellos : You seem to have a nice sense for finding the "mot juste".
30 mins
Thank you, Muriel. That's kind of you to say.
agree Christian [email protected] : I also like your second option.
2 hrs
Thanks, Christian! I value your bilingual judgment.
agree franglish
8 hrs
Thank you, franglish.
agree neilmac : Usually seen as "De muestra un botón/Como muestra un botón" over here...
8 hrs
Thanks, Neil. Interesting.
agree Yvonne Gallagher
12 hrs
Thanks, Gallagy.
agree Andy Watkinson : I'm stealing this if you don't mind...
13 hrs
Thanks, Andy. You are welcome to it. This phrase wouldn't have occurred to me if the Spanish had appeared all by itself... it was the context.
agree Marcelo González
1 day 23 hrs
Thanks, Marcelo.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks for your thoughtful response & discussion, Kathryn. Although Robert's & Michael's answers were I think correct, I thought yours worked better in the context - & I used it in my translation."
+2
4 mins

For instance...

botón
como botón de muestra — (just) to give you an idea
es un irresponsable: como botón de muestra ayer perdió las llaves — he's totally irresponsible: just to give you an example / for instance, only yesterday he lost the keys

https://es.oxforddictionaries.com/traducir/espanol-ingles/bo...
Peer comment(s):

agree Michael Powers (PhD) : Oxford is usually a very reliable reference. Mike :)
13 mins
Thanks, Mike.
agree Wilsonn Perez Reyes : also, For example:
19 mins
Thanks, Wilsonn.
Something went wrong...
15 mins

And for/as evidence, an example.

"un botón" could be interpreted in this context as a shortened form of "un botón de prueba" meaning an example. Note the source cited below uses "example" for botón de muestra with "prueba" in parentheses).

(informal) on button n
botón de muestra loc nom m (ejemplo, señal, prueba) example n
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

8 hrs
Reference:

Prueba vs muestra

There are several variants of the phrase depending on where it appears. In Spain, the form is more likely to be "de/como/para muestra un botón", and it is notoriously hard to translate, as there are so many possibilities.
https://eleredeliris.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/para-muestra-u...
http://cvc.cervantes.es/lengua/refranero/ficha.aspx?Par=5927...
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