Thread: businness as usual

I'm having problems with these two terms which are in bold type . Here you are. I'd appreciate your help

Pandemic influenza is not business-as-usual influenza. Bear this in mind. You wouldn't call a tiger a cat.

(a) Pandemic influenza is not business-as-usual influenza. Bear this in mind. (b) You wouldn't call a tiger a cat.


(a) business as usual = no changes, nothing special, nothing unusual, same as before, common

(Pandemic influenza, as you know, is a form of influenza that jumps from continent to continent. The writer is saying that it's not the usual, every day variety of influenza, but something much worse, much more dangerous, much more deadly.)

1) When John got out of prison, it was business as usual. Within a week he had robbed two stores.
2) The wife invited her husband to return home. Within hours, it was business as usual. He had beaten her again.
3) He returned home after three years in the army. Within days, it was business as usual. He was working on the farm, dating the girl next door, and seeing his friends after work.

(b) In the last sentence, the writer is reinforcing what was said in the first sentence. Pandemic influenza is not to be confused with less lethal, less dangerous forms of influenza. You wouldn't call a tiger a cat, and you wouldn't call pandemic influenza "just another influenza". By the way, this is not an idiomatic expression commonly used by native speakers, but a creation of the writer.

"Comun y corriente" is a great translation in the context of the message in English. However, the usual (99%?) meaning of the phrase "business as usual" means "just as before, without changes" etc.

A better way, in my opinion, to express the writer's meaning would have been to use "garden variety". Different stokes for different folks.

It's not a garden variety influenza.
It's a garden variety epidemic.
It's a garden variety romance novel.
It's a garden variety computer store.

Originally Posted by MARIELARITZ

I'm having problems with these two terms which are in bold type . Here you are. I'd appreciate your help

Pandemic influenza is not business-as-usual influenza. Bear this in mind. You wouldn't call a tiger a cat.

o.k. Mariela Literalmente no tiene significado porque la influenza no es un negocio,verdad? sino que la expresión utilizada "Bussines as usual" se refiere a que no es una influenza "Común y corriente" y continua.... ya que entonces seria como (hace una analogía) llamar "Tigre" a un "gato". La idea es que no se confunda con una "Influenza" simple ,o.k.?

Saludos,si necesitas mayores traducciones aún de textos completos puedes contactarme al correo : [email protected]

saludos.