el papel aguanta cualquier cosa

English translation: everything may seem great in theory/on paper

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

Spanish term or phrase:	el papel aguanta cualquier cosa
English translation:	everything may seem great in theory/on paper
Entered by:	Marie Wilson

09:29 Feb 26, 2021

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Business/Commerce (general) / Internship programme

Spanish term or phrase: el papel aguanta cualquier cosa

This is from a company's staff attraction and recruitment policy, specifically referring to its internship programme

"Todos sabemos que el papel aguanta cualquier cosa: como en todas las relaciones hay que ver qué tal nos llevamos en la realidad."

A strange turn of phrase (to me, at least) that seems to be basically saying that having something on paper is not the same/as good as actually doing them...?

What do others think please?

Thanks

Comunican KudoZ activity Questions: 1188 (7 open) (3 without valid answers) (118 closed without grading) Answers: 137 United Kingdom
Local time: 14:53

everything may seem great/fine in theory

Explanation:
Some discussions here:
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/el-papel-aguanta.257...
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/slang/1182832-...

I think here it means that things might seem one way in theory, and are a different matter in practise.

Todos sabemos que el papel aguanta cualquier cosa
We all know everything may seem great in theory ...

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Note added at 1 hr (2021-02-26 11:07:37 GMT)
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Another option on the same lines:

look good on paper
To seem plausible, acceptable, or adequate in theory, though it may not prove to be so in reality.
Your idea looks good on paper, but I don't think it would work in a real-world environment.
The strategy looked good on paper, but it proved to be much more complicated and time consuming than we had expected.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 days (2021-03-03 19:41:36 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks, and glad to be of help!

Selected response from:

Marie Wilson
Spain
Local time: 15:53

Grading comment

Thanks so much Marie and agreers!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +8

everything may seem great/fine in theory

Marie Wilson

the role involves any number of things

Lisa Rosengard

Apperances can be deceiving

Wordrow (X)

Discussion entries: 9

Príamo Jiménez

Brazil

Just a (late) side note

23:01 Mar 2, 2021

This is very used where I come from (DR) as "el papel aguanta todo" in the sense Marie described, but also implying in some way that paper, even though fragile, is strong enough to bear the weight of (or contain) anything that's written on it, heavy lies, deep falsehoods (or deepfakes, as some are calling them now), poor quality text, etc.
Hope that makes sense =)

Carol Gullidge

United Kingdom

No doubt a PRO question...!

11:08 Feb 26, 2021

In which case, I apologise for my hastiness in voting it NON-PRO! Fortunately it takes three votes for a question to be downgraded.

However, this would never have happened in the first place if we had had the benefit of the Asker's own previous research, in particular, what alternatives he had already considered (other than simply "Paper"), and his grounds for rejecting these.

Marie Wilson

Spain

11:03 Feb 26, 2021

This expression does seem to exist, or at least a similar one:
https://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/slang/1182832-...
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/el-papel-aguanta.257...

Toni Castano

Spain

@Comunican

10:57 Feb 26, 2021

Have you thought by any chance of a possible typo? Not "papel", but "panel" (= staff, committee). Without the benefit of the full context, it is difficult to say, but your source sentence seems nonsensical to me.
Ah, surely a PRO-question in this case.

Carol Gullidge

United Kingdom

Collins dictionary: papel (3): => role, part

10:11 Feb 26, 2021

in this case, the role of the successful applicant, the role s/he would be fulfilling (i.e., the job description?)
HOWEVER, I CAN see that this might not be as clearcut as I first imagined :) !

Marie Wilson

Spain

10:05 Feb 26, 2021

I've never heard this expression, and if I saw it out of context, its meaning would not be clear.

Carol Gullidge

United Kingdom

Sorry, but this seemed so obvious to me...

09:56 Feb 26, 2021

...that it simply looked to me as though you hadn’t researched this! And in my own defence, it would have helped if you had posted ALL your ideas and research, and your reasons for discarding these possibilities! This would of course save us from making incorrect assumptions and also avoid duplicating research on our part

Comunican

United Kingdom

ASKER

I don't think it is role

09:46 Feb 26, 2021

You may be right but I don't think it is. Assuming you are a professional and experienced translator like myself, the fact that we disagree is reason enough not to vote to reclassify my question as non-Pro!

Carol Gullidge

United Kingdom

Papel

09:35 Feb 26, 2021

Hmmmh, surely this is to do with the “role” to be fulfilled by the successful applicant rather than anything connected with “paper”!

Answers

3 hrs confidence:

Apperances can be deceiving

Explanation:
I feel my rendition conveys the same, although in a more direct way.

Example sentence(s):

That person seems charming, but appearances can be deceiving

Wordrow (X)
United States
Local time: 09:53
Native speaker of:

English,

Spanish

15 hrs confidence:

the role involves any number of things

Explanation:
It says that everyone knows that any number of things are possible in the role, or on paper, but as in all relationships the reality of practice is yet to be seen.

Example sentence(s):

Dice que todos saben que cualquier número de cosas es posible en el papel, o entre los papeles (entre los trámites), pero, como en todas las relaciones la realidad de la práctica queda por conocer.

Lisa Rosengard
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:53
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8

20 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +8

everything may seem great/fine in theory

Like many changes, they seem great in theory, but it is implementation that always sets the greatest hurdle
Plenty of ideas seem great in theory, but don't pan out in the real world

Marie Wilson
Spain
Local time: 15:53
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 24

Grading comment

Thanks so much Marie and agreers!

Notes to answerer

Asker: I like that! Thanks Marie!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Shilpa Baliga: I especially like the "it looks good on paper" rendering

1 hr

-> Thanks, Shilpa! Was an afterthought but closer to ST.

agree

Carol Gullidge: And I especially like "looks good on paper" (and no longer think this is NON-PRO!)

1 hr

-> Thanks, Carol, and as you say, need 3 votes so doesn't matter :-)

agree

AllegroTrans: "looks good on paper" is also good

2 hrs

-> Thanks!

agree

Wordrow (X)

2 hrs

-> Thank you!

agree

Andrew Bramhall: Yep, 'on paper' or ' in theory'; both mean the same thing.

3 hrs

-> Thanks, Oliver!

agree

James A. Walsh: Definitely think "looks good on paper" is closer to the ST.

3 hrs

-> Thanks, James, that seems to be most popular :-)

agree

Melany Klinec

9 hrs

-> Thanks, Melany :-)

agree

neilmac

21 hrs

-> Thanks, Neil :-)

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English translation: everything may seem great in theory/on paper

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