Robert in Oak Park, Illinois, seeks a Portuguese phrase he once heard that a man might say when the object of his affection is out of their league or otherwise forever unattainable. This wistful phrase is Ela é muita areia pro meu caminhãozinho or “She’s too much sand for my little truck.” This sentiment is expressed throughout the world in various ways. A Spanish phrase suggests that the speaker doesn’t even come up to someone else’s heels — ni a los talones — and in French it’s loin de lui arriver à la cheville. In German, it’s nicht das Wasser reichen können, literally “can’t reach the water,” that is, not good enough to carry water for someone. In Polish, a couple of expressions that also convey the idea of someone being out of another’s league translate as “the sausage is not for the dog” and the “the soul wants to get into heaven.” This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Too Much Sand for My Truck”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Robert Elder calling from Oak Park, Illinois.
Hi, Robert. Welcome to the show.
So I was wondering, so when I was in college at the University of Oregon, a Brazilian friend of mine told me about a phrase that I’ve never forgotten.
And in essence, it’s what men would say when they saw a woman who was so beautiful, they thought that they didn’t stand a chance with her.
And I’ve lost the original Portuguese, but the translation is, she is too much sand for my little truck.
And, you know, this is a more memorable version of she’s out of my league.
But it made me think, you know, are there other variations of this kind of expression in other languages?
Do you know the Portuguese?
So it’s she is too much sand for my little truck.
Do you know the Portuguese version?
You know, I lost it. And actually years ago, I asked Mark Sandman, who was a lead singer for the band Morphine, what it was, because he was a cab driver in Brazil.
But I’ve since even lost that. So I’m hoping you guys know what it is. And again, if there are other variations.
It’s such a sad phrase, isn’t it? She’s too much sand for my little truck.
It is, but it’s far more descriptive than she’s out of my league, you know.
Right, right.
And in Brazilian Portuguese, it’s something like, ela é muita arrea para o meu caminhãozinho.
Yeah, she’s too much sand for my little truck, which is, I don’t know, it’s just so sad, you know.
It’s talking about inability to attain the impossible.
But we love your question, Robert, because there are lots of different phrases that, I think this is my favorite of all of them, Grant.
It’s so colorful.
And I understand that it’s a little different in European Portuguese.
You might also use it there for something that’s too expensive, perhaps a car that’s out of your budget, or even a job that is beyond your capabilities or a business proposal that is too big for your company to accept.
Too much sand for your little truck.
Sometimes you can just say too much sand for my truck without the little.
Yeah, yeah, coming now.
But there are lots of different phrases that convey that same idea.
There’s one in Spanish that suggests that they don’t even come up to the bottoms of their, the soles of their shoes.
Or they don’t even come up to their heels.
Ni a las talones.
And, you know, there’s some of these that are kind of naughty in Polish.
There’s one that goes, the sausage is not for the dog.
Which is…
Or the soul wants to get into heaven, and you can swap out a word there and make it sound really naughty.
But Grant, I know you’re a fan of these as well.
But, you know, you mentioned something about not coming up to the heels.
In a lot of European languages, including French, Hebrew, Czech, and German, there is something about not reaching your ankles.
In French, it’s…
But in German, there’s also…
They can’t reach the water.
Basically, the equivalent of the English, not good enough to carry someone’s water.
It’s nice to know that low self-esteem is universal.
Yeah.
Yeah, but I do think of all of these, the Brazilian one is my favorite.
I had never heard other variations before, and it’s such a specific thing.
It’s not just low self-esteem.
It’s that you don’t have a chance.
My brother used to have one with his friends that was similar, which was, we look good, but we ain’t got no game.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
This was a great call, Robert, and this is a great expression.
I’m sure this is going to make it into English now, and you’ve done the job.
Oh, thank you so much.
All right, take care now.
Be well.
Thanks for calling.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
We love those phrases from other languages.
Did you learn it from a taxi driver?
Did you hear them from a band member?
Was it something you learned when you were traveling or you grew up with?
Or tell those phrases that speak to your heart in other languages to us and email words@waywordradio.org.
