Jun 16, 2017 13:04
6 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term
Germany
US-educated, precise & thorough
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Russian
take it south
English
Other
Slang
A worker got his hand stuck in a coupler and later had three and a half fingers amputated. He describes it like so:
You can try to pull your hand out of there but you know there is no way it is going to get out. That's why I just told them to ****take it south****. I remember I went to the emergency response team, I didn't want to look at it, I just had my right hand holding it down over there and once I got in the ambulance my mind just blanked out.
What does he mean by "take it south"? Thanks!
You can try to pull your hand out of there but you know there is no way it is going to get out. That's why I just told them to ****take it south****. I remember I went to the emergency response team, I didn't want to look at it, I just had my right hand holding it down over there and once I got in the ambulance my mind just blanked out.
What does he mean by "take it south"? Thanks!
Responses
+5
5 hrs
philgoddard
United States
United States
Native in English
&
English
United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Selected
do their worst, do whatever they had to
I think this is a better paraphrase of "take it south" if you're translating it into another language. If you're in this situation, you don't tell the medics to cut your hand off or go for the worst-case scenario: you say do whatever it takes, I don't care how bad it is.
"Do your worst" means not "do a bad job" but "do whatever is necessary".
"Do your worst" means not "do a bad job" but "do whatever is necessary".
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks everyone for your help"
+2
6 mins
Julius Ngwa
Canada
Canada
Native in English
&
English
Canada
Saying it as it's to be said
Native in: English 
Works in: French to English, English, English to French
cut it off
Context
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Robert Forstag
: I've never seen the expression used in this way, but it is what fits the context, as you say. Maybe it is a regionalism.
18 mins
|
| agree |
acetran
1 day 4 hrs
|
| neutral |
Edith Kelly
: I doubt anyone would mean to say that in the situation described
1 day 18 hrs
|
45 mins
airmailrpl
Brazil
Brazil
Native in English
&
English
Brazil
Technical - Fast - good price - accurate
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
, Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
32
go for the worst case scenario
take it south -> go for the worst case scenario
The use of south as in the phrase go south stems from the 1920s (from the Oxford English Dictionary): colloq. (orig. Stock Market). Downward or lower in value, price, or quality; in or into a worse condition or position.Sep 19, 2011
etymology - Origin of the idiom "go south" - English Language ...
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/42358/origin-of-...
go south - Wiktionary
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/go_south
go south (third-person singular simple present goes south, present participle ... (idiomatic) To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse.
The use of south as in the phrase go south stems from the 1920s (from the Oxford English Dictionary): colloq. (orig. Stock Market). Downward or lower in value, price, or quality; in or into a worse condition or position.Sep 19, 2011
etymology - Origin of the idiom "go south" - English Language ...
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/42358/origin-of-...
go south - Wiktionary
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/go_south
go south (third-person singular simple present goes south, present participle ... (idiomatic) To become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse.
Something went wrong...