el germen de una idea

Ex: What began as a germ of an idea around a kitchen table in Toronto in 1997 is now being published out of Washington DC with contributors and subscribers from 20 countries.

Ex: The title of her doctoral dissertation was 'Americans and the Germ Theory of Disease'.

Ex: This article highlights the root causes of nativism against both immigrants and U.S. immigration policy arising from increasing legal and illegal immigration.

• formarse una idea de algo — to form an impression of sth

• hacerse una idea de algo — to get an idea of sth

• idea brillante, idea genial — brilliant idea, brainwave

mi idea era salir temprano — I had intended to leave early, my idea o intention was to leave early

• cambiar de idea — to change one's mind

• idea fija — fixed idea

• ir con la idea de hacer algo — to mean to do sth

• tiene muy mala idea — his intentions are not good, he's a nasty piece of work *

tuvo muy mala idea al hacer las preguntas — his questions were really malicious o nasty

• metérsele una idea en la cabeza a algn, cuando se le mete una idea en la cabeza no hay quien se la saque — once he gets an idea into his head no one can talk him out of it

• tener idea de hacer algo — [en el pasado] to mean to do sth; [en el futuro] to be thinking of doing sth

tenía idea de traerme varias botellas de vodka — I meant o I was meaning to bring some bottles of vodka

• tener idea de algo — to have an idea of sth

• no tener la menor idea — not to have the faintest o the foggiest idea

lo expulsaron por sus ideas políticas — they expelled him because of his political beliefs o ideas

• una persona de ideas conservadoras/liberales/radicales — a conservative/liberal/radical-minded person

la idea de libertad — the idea o concept of freedom

es de ideas conservadoras — she has conservative ideas o views

darse idea para algo — (RPl fam) to be good at something

hacerse (a) la idea de algo — to get used to the idea of something

idea de bombero — (Esp fam) crazy idea

la idea de libertad — the idea o concept of freedom

es de ideas conservadoras — she has conservative ideas o views

darse idea para algo — (RPl fam) to be good at something

hacerse (a) la idea de algo — to get used to the idea of something

idea de bombero — (Esp fam) crazy idea

Ex: Analytical cataloguing is valuable in respect of any type of media, but many of ideas have been tested most thoroughly in the context of monographs and serials.

al principio tuve muchas dudas — I had a lot of misgivings o doubts at first

• un hecho que no admite duda — an unquestionable fact

• ante la duda, no lo hagas — if in doubt, don't

• me asaltó la duda de si... — I was suddenly seized by a doubt as to whether...

• no cabe duda de que... — there can be no doubt that...

• en caso de duda — if in doubt

• para desvanecer o disipar toda duda — in order to clear up any doubts, to banish all doubts

• estar en duda, aún está en duda si él será el nuevo director — there's still some doubt as to o about whether he will be the new manager

estoy en la duda sobre si me iré de vacaciones o no — I'm undecided o in two minds about whether to go on holiday or not

• fuera de toda duda — beyond all doubt

• sin lugar a duda(s) — without doubt, undoubtedly

• poner algo en duda — to question sth, doubt sth

nadie está poniendo en duda su fidelidad — nobody is questioning o doubting his fidelity

• sacar a algn de dudas o de la duda — to clear things up for sb

• salir de dudas, pregúntaselo a él, así saldremos de dudas — ask him, then we'll know

• sin duda — undoubtedly

• sin sombra de duda — without a shadow of a doubt

¿tienen alguna duda? — are there any queries o questions?

no cabe ninguna duda or la menor duda — there cannot be the slightest doubt

sin duda or sin lugar a dudas — undoubtedly

ante or en la duda, abstente — if in doubt, don't

no sé que hacer, estoy en (la) duda — I don't know what to do; I'm of (AmE) o (BrE) in two minds about it

¿tienen alguna duda? — are there any queries o questions?

no cabe ninguna duda or la menor duda — there cannot be the slightest doubt

sin duda or sin lugar a dudas — undoubtedly

ante or en la duda, abstente — if in doubt, don't

no sé que hacer, estoy en (la) duda — I don't know what to do; I'm of (AmE) o (BrE) in two minds about it

Ex: Of course just like any seed, the seed of doubt needs proper environment to grow.

Ex: However, for others, the ideal status had not yet been achieved and there was doubt about the practical applicability of equity laws.

en un or al principio — at first, in the beginning

en un or al principio — at first, in the beginning

Ex: The new chemical was expensive, and in the early days it was often mishandled; much of the foxing of early nineteenth-century paper was due to inefficient bleaching.

Ex: Objective 2 results in what could be described as a collocative catalogue, because a catalogue based on this principle collocates the writings of a particular author.

Ex: Olle is right, however, in implying that after a slow start interest in, and writing about, official publishing in Britain has increased dramatically in recent years.

• dar origen a — [+ rumores, movimiento, organización] to give rise to

• de origen, proteínas de origen animal/vegetal — animal/vegetable proteins

• desde sus orígenes — [de movimiento, corriente] from its origins; [de ciudad, país] from the very beginning, right from the start

• en su origen — originally

en su origen la organización no tenía más de veinte miembros — at the outset o at the start o originally the organization had no more than twenty members

• tener su origen en — [+ lugar] to originate in; [+ inicio] to originate from; [+ fecha] to date back to

la paella tuvo su origen en Valencia — paella had its origin o originated in Valencia

el vals tiene su origen en las danzas austriacas "Ländler" — the waltz originates o comes from Austrian "Ländler" dances

• de origen argentino/árabe — of Argentinian/Arab origin o más frm extraction

• país de origen — country of origin, native country

aquel comentario dio origen a... — that remark gave rise to o caused...

aquel comentario dio origen a... — that remark gave rise to o caused...

Ex: The genesis of this brave new world of solid state logic, in which bibliographic data are reduced to phantasmagoria on the faces of cathode-ray tubes (CRT), extends at most only three-quarters of a decade into the dim past.