Help with a word?

[David Wright]

I once knew a Spanish word (or short phrase) that meant, say, going to
a market to look for something you probably weren't going to find. You
say you're going out to buy a stainless steel, left-handed widget
puller, but what you're really doing is just going out to wander
around on a nice day, do a little people watching, have a beer and an
antojito, and not worry about whether you find what you supposedly
went out for. It's like a mcguffin in a mystery novel -- it gets the
story going, but doesn't have any purpose after that. Anyone know this
term I'm trying to remember?

ObFood -- My supermercado had ripe mangos yesteday, so I made a salsa
with diced mango, tangelo, tomato (juice and seeds removed), green
onion, red onion, chopped cilantro, garlic, roasted serrano chiles,
key lime juice and orange juice. Worked well over grilled chicken
breasts.

David

[Dimitri G Criona]

David Wright wrote in message <36dafb13...@news.texas.net>...

>I once knew a Spanish word (or short phrase) that meant, say, going to
>a market to look for something you probably weren't going to find. You
>say you're going out to buy a stainless steel, left-handed widget
>puller, but what you're really doing is just going out to wander
>around on a nice day, do a little people watching, have a beer and an
>antojito, and not worry about whether you find what you supposedly
>went out for. It's like a mcguffin in a mystery novel -- it gets the
>story going, but doesn't have any purpose after that. Anyone know this
>term I'm trying to remember?

>David

I believe the expression you are looking for is *ni modo*. As many
idiomatic expressions they can not be directly translated because they
express more of an attitude than any word or words can express.

Usually said, "pues ni modo"

It really means, who cares, it is not important nor should it be considered
important, Alfred E. Newman's "What me worry"

Regards;

Dimitri