David Hollywood (asker) Jun 8, 2008:

thanks to Patricia too and would like to have been able to give the nod to both :)

Jonathan MacKerron Jun 7, 2008:

don't mess with the "monkey's uncle", dude!

Patricia Rosas Jun 7, 2008:

Richard, Amazing!

R. Alex Jenkins Jun 7, 2008:

If you simply type "well, I'll be" into Google and see what the results are, you'll see 'monkey's uncle' coming up with surprising amount of hits, although not that many on the younger blogs. It's very widely utilised, much more than I imagined.

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

I needed to be sure and what great help you gave :)

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

really appreciate the feedback and that's what this great site is all about :)

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

I think it's ok Richard and good enough for me .. just wasn't sure if it would be ok for US

R. Alex Jenkins Jun 7, 2008:

Maybe you could post the original paragraph in the Spanish to English Proz forum and see what others come up with.

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

I would like to go with "monkey's uncle" but is there any other angle?

R. Alex Jenkins Jun 7, 2008:

The only way to know for sure is to ask someone a great deal younger than we obviously are - well you lot anyway :)

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

sounds great so far :)

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

any alternatives as I would like to give this a bit of ooomph lol :)

Patricia Rosas Jun 7, 2008:

I think it works perfectly. As Kim notes below, you wouldn't hear a young person say that today, but someone in their 70s very well might...

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

in total surprise so I would like your thoughts on how we could get this over in a sort of passé way ...

Kim Metzger Jun 7, 2008:

monkey's uncle is perfect for a 70-year old.

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

the action takes place in a conversation in which the 70+ year-old reacts to a comment about modern-day economic developments

Kim Metzger Jun 7, 2008:

A contemporary novel?

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

it's a 70+ year-old expressing surprise at a comment

Kim Metzger Jun 7, 2008:

What age is the character who says this?

Kim Metzger Jun 7, 2008:

When does the action take place in the novel?

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

any and all alternatives would be more than welcome :)

David Hollywood (asker) Jun 7, 2008:

confirmation I think it might be just Britspeak ...