got stuck

Hi Guys,

I need to know if there is another way to express that your credit or debit card got stuck in an ATM. I mean, when you insert the card, the machine does not return it to you

Thanks

The ATM ate my card.

Hi Thomas,
Really? Here in my country, we say, "el cajero me tragó la tarjeta" something like "The ATM swallowed my card"


Thanks dude!

I have lived outside the USA for four years, but I am sure people would understand and even use "to swallow", but the most common expression seems to be "to eat".

Thomas, so great!!! I'll go with eat, thanks a lot, Diego

Quote:

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Originally Posted by diegonel

Thomas, so great!!! I'll go with eat, thanks a lot, Diego

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That´s fine within an informal context Dego, but I would use your first version within the formal one.

Regards :)

Hebe,
hi u doing!
Yes, you are right. Get stuck is more formal. Thanks

"Getting stuck" sounds very Spanglish to me. Other ways to get the idea across are "The ATM took/kept my card" or "I lost my card in the ATM machine".

My two cents worth:

the ATM ate my card, the ATM kept my card, my card didn't come back out of the ATM, the ATM didn't return my card, my card is stuck in the ATM

In a more formal situation, for example, a letter to the bank, I would say that the ATM didn't return my card.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thomas

"Getting stuck" sounds very Spanglish to me. Other ways to get the idea across are "The ATM took/kept my card" or "I lost my card in the ATM machine".

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That's interesting Thomas. I must say that I am not an English native speaker but I heard that expression a lot when I lived in USA.

Best regards

Did you read Mariaklec's post? "Stuck" is a possibility because that is more or less what happens to the card. The tendency, however, overhwelmingly seems to be to give a description or explanation in which the ATM is more or less blamed for the problem. The ATM ate the card, took the card, didn't return the card, kept the card, etc. The same could be said of coins lost in a public telephone, a vending machine, etc. "My quarter got stuck in the Coke machine"? I don't think so. But the machine certainly ate it, took it, didn't return it, kept it, etc. I think "swallowed" would be understood, but I don't recall ever hearing it.

Thomas What you say makes a lot of sense and I´m pretty sure is quite correct . I was just surprised to read that the expresion #got stuck" sounded Spanish becuase as I mentioned I have heard it from natives. I repeat, what you said is totally reasonable, indded , the tendency is to blame the machine. I guess that is one way to stress the bank's responsibility for technological failures :D