English translation of "se encogió por si le daban con" - "the man only cringed and shrank back, in case he was hit by a car"

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140 months ago

Barbara Cochran (a guest user) asked this question:

Language pair:	Spanish > English
Subject:	General
Level of diffculty:	Easy / medium
Word or term in question:	se encogió por si le daban con
Context:	A la salida del pueblo, en una curva con poca visibilidad por poco atropelló a un hombre. Pensó que le había matado pero este sólo se encogió por si le daban con el coche. Parecía mudo o, al menos, daba la sensación de serlo.

Important This question has already been answered and rated. Therefore, no new answers can be given.

Complete list of answers and comments

140 months ago

María P. Álvarez wrote:

the man only cringed and shrank back, in case he was hit by a car

The asker rated this answer best

140 months ago

María P. Álvarez wrote:

But that man just rolled down to escape the blow

140 months ago

María P. Álvarez wrote:

but the man just stepped back to avoid being hit by the car

My comment:

I think the man reared against the wall, because if he had crouched down he would have been run over.

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

140 months ago

wrote:

another possibility: shrank back to avoid...

140 months ago

wrote:

The guy is walking on a cane, so I don't think he would "step back". I think it might be something like "teetered away from the car", or something of the sort.

140 months ago

wrote:

But the verb "encogerse" does imply the idea of shrinking or huddling up. Anyway the pedestrian must haved backed away: if he had crossed the road, he would have been run over.

140 months ago

Clara Fernández wrote:

But the man was just crouching down in case the car hit him

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