spanish idioms literal translation english equivalent...
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Spanish idioms Literal translation English equivalent Picture representation
Rascarse la barriga To scratch your belly To sit on your backside and do nothing
Ahogarse en un vaso de agua
To drown in a glass of water To make a mountain out of a molehill.
Estar hecho un Adán To be like Adam To look a mess
Un hombre de pelo en pecho
A man with hair on his chest A real man
Beber los aires por alguien
To drink the breezes for somebody
To be madly in love with someone
Estar hasta las narices de algo
To be up to the nostrils with something
Fed up to the back teeth with something
Mientras que en mi casa estoy, rey soy
While in my house I am king A man`s home is his castle
Llevar a alguien por la calle de la amargura
To lead somebody down misery street
To make somebody`s life a misery
Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito
About taste there is nothing written down
There is no accounting for taste
Tener la cabeza como una bola de billar
To have a head like a billiard ball
To be as bald as a coot
Tener cara de pascua To have an Easter face To be grinning broadly
Estar mas sano que una pera
To be healthier than a pear To be as fit as a fiddle
Hacer las cuentas de la lechera
To the milkmaid`s sums To count your chickens before they are hatched
No estar bien sentado To be a backside that can't sit still
To have ants in your pants
Ni de aquí a Lima Not from here to Lima Not by a long chalk. There is just no comparison
Tener cara de pascua To have an Easter face To be grinning from ear to ear
Las mentiras tienen patas cortas
Lies have short legs The truth will out (lies won't get you very far).
Entre col y col, lechuga Between cabbage and cabbage, lettuce.
Variety is the spice of life
Esto no tiene mucha ciencia
This doesn`t have a lot of science
There is nothing difficult about it
Untar la mano de alguien To grease somebody`s hand To grease somebody`s palm. To influence someone by giving them money.
Ser mas fuerte que un roble
To be stronger than an oak tree To be as strong as an ox
Al pie de la letra To the foot of the letter To the letter, or exactly
Las vacas gordas The fat cows The boom years
Lo saben hasta las piedras
Even stones know that Everyone knows that
Tener buen diente To have a good tooth To have a healthy appetite
Tener a alguien entre ojos
To have somebody between your eyes
To have it in for someone
Se armó la de San Quintín
What happened at San Quintin broke out
all hell broke out
Estar mas loco que una cabra
To be madder than a goat To be as mad as a hatter
Meter la cuchara To put in your spoon To stick your oar in
Poner toda la carne en el asador
To put all the meat on the barbecue
Pull out all the stops
Cambiar el chip To change one`s chip To change your way of thinking
Eso está hecho That`s done It`s a sure thing (promise)
No saber ni papa de Not to know even a potato about
To know nothing about
Alzarse con el santo y la limosna
To take off with the saint and the alms.
To clear off with everything
Hacer algo volando To do something on the fly To do something quickly
Préstame la guitarra Lend me the guitar Let me get a word in
Meterse en el sobre To put oneself in one`s envelope
To go to bed, to hit the sack
A jalones y estirones at pulls and stretches Kicking and screaming / with lots of effort
Rascarse el bolsillo To scratch the pocket Spend money unwillingly
Estoy que me caigo I am about to fall I am not feeling well
Quemar las naves To burn one`s shipd To burn one`s bridges
Tener mucha cuerda To have a lot of chord To have a lot of life left in them.
Bajar a todos los santos To get all the saints down. To try everything when you are up against it.
Echar leña al fuego To add fuel to the fire To make things worse
Lanzar un rollo To throw a roll To start a long story
Que si patatín que si patatán
And so on and so on blah, blah, blah, blah
Mírate en ese espejo Look at yourself in that mirror Let that be a lesson to you
Navegar con bandera de inocente
To sail with the flag of an innocent
To play dumb. To pretend to be innocent but have a motive for it.
Ni corto ni perezoso Neither short nor lazy Doing it right away. Without losing any time
Liso y llano Smooth and flat, as a road A piece of cake. Easy.
La procesión va por dentro
The procession goes on the inside
Bottling it all up.
Por un tubo Through a pipe Abundantly.
Mirar los toros desde la barrera
To look at the bulls from behind the barrier
To stay out of harm`s way
Ya tener una pata allí To now have a paw in there To have a foot in the door
Estar como pez en el agua
To be like a fish in water To be in one`s element. To enjoy your own comforts.
Tapando el sol con un dedo
Covering the sun with a finger Covering things up.
Hijos de muchas madres Children of many mothers All kinds of people. A diverse group of people.
Pintarse solo para una cosa
To paint oneself alone for something
To be very skillful at something
Pisarle los callos a alguien
To step on someone`s callouses
To bother someone without reason
Sin cruzar palabra Without crossing word Without saying a word
Que lo haga Rita Let Rita do it Let someone else do it
La flor y nata The flower and whipped cream Upper crust. Highest social class.
Pagar por sustos To pay in frights To buy on credit
Los gajes del oficio The matters of the trade. Part and parcel of the job. Occupational hazards.
Tener a alguien en el alma
To have someone in one's soul To feel for someone who is having problems. To want to help
Llover a cántaros To rain tanks/pitchers Raining buckets
Tener buen diente To have good tooth To be a big eater. To have a hollow leg
Fresco Fresh Cool as a cucumber. Not worried
Estar muy potable To be very drinkable To look attractive
Partirse de la risa To split with laughter To crack up with laughter
Dar en el clavo To strike home To be spot on. To hit the nail on the head.
Mucho ojo, que la vista engaña
Much eye, the sight deceives Appearances are deceptive
Darle lata a alguien To give someone tin can To give someone a hard time. To upset someone.
Quedarse para vestir santos
To stay dressing saints To remain an old maid
Llevar la batuta To carry the baton To have great influence. To call the shots. Big shot.
A mí, me importa un pito lo que pienses
To me, I give a damn what you think
I don't give a toss what you think
Tirarse los trastos a la cabeza
To throw junk at the head to have a blazing row.
Para dar y tomar To give and take In abundance. To burn. ex. money
Bailar en la cuerda floja To dance on the tightrope To try to do many things at once
Tener los nervios de punta
To have one's nerves standing To have one's nerves on edge
Hacer San Lunes Make Saint Monday To skive off work on Mondays
Sufrir un ataque de cuernos
To suffer an attack of horns To go into a jealous rage
Estar colgado To be hung, suspended To be in love. To have a crush
Hay ropa tendida There is clothing hung out to dry
The coast is not clear. Be careful
De buenas a primeras From good ones to first ones On the spur of the moment
Poderoso caballero es Don Dinero
Mighty gentleman is Don Money
Money makes the world go round / Money is power, power is money
Ser uña y carne To be fingernail and flesh. To be bosom buddies.
Buscarle las pulgas a alguien
To look for someone`s fleas To irritate someone. To provoke
Seguir en sus trece To keep in one`s thirteen To persist. To stick to one`s guns.
Siempre me toca bailar con la más fea
I always have to dance with the ugliest girl.
I always get the short end of the stick / I always draw the short straw.
Salir por la ventana To leave through the window To sneak out the back door.
Tengamos la fiesta en paz
We have the peace party. Let`s have some peace and quiet.
Revolver el gallinero To stir the chicken To put the cat among the pigeons.
A falta de pan, buenas son tortas
Where there is no bread, cakes are fine.
It will do just fine. One thing is as good as another.
Para parar un tren To stop a train In large quantities. Tons of
Salir el tiro por la culata To have the shot go out the butt of the rifle
To backfire. To have the opposite result from what was anticipated.
Empezar la casa por el tejado
To begin the house with the roof
To put the cart before the horse
Atar cabos To tie ends To put two and two together
Tonto de capirote Idiot chief Dope of dopes. Really stupid
Tiene un humor de perros He`s in a dog mood He`s in a foul mood
Para colmo de desgracias For the culmination of misfortunes
To top it all off
Un clavo saca otro clavo One nail takes out another nail. One problem overshadows another.
Estar como agua para chocolate
To be like water for chocolate. To be at boiling point (anger or passion)
Echar flores To throw flowers To pat on the back. To compliment
Dar en la torre To give in the tower To hit hard. To hurt someone where they are vulnerable
Un hotel de mala muerte a hotel of bad death A grotty hotel
Correr como un galgo To run like a greyhound To run like a gazelle
Valer su peso en oro To be worth its weight in gold To be worth a fortune
Acostarse con las gallinas To go to bed with the chickens To go to bed early
Aflojar la cuerda To loosen the cord To take a breather
Poner en las nubes To put in the clouds To praise to the skies. To highly praise.
Estar metida en un rollo To be put in a roll To get into a bind. To get into hot water.
En boca cerrada no entran moscas
In a closed mouth flies don`t enter.
Loose talk can get you into trouble.
El hijo de papá Daddy`s child Rich kid. Kid who has everything provided for them.
Más loco que una cabra Crazier than a she-goat Mad as a hatter
Reparar en migajas To notice crumbs To split hairs. To pay attention to unimportant things instead of the bigger issues.
No dar pie con bola To not hit the ball with one`s foot
To not be correct. To make a mess of things. To not do things right
Donde el diablo perdió el poncho
Where the devil lost his poncho In a god-forsaken spot
Meterse en el sobre To put oneself in the envelope To hit the sack. To go to bed
Meter la cuchara To put in the spoon To put in one`s two penny worth
Chiste rojo Red joke Dirty joke
No calentar el asiento To not warm the seat To not last long
Tener un corazón de acero
To have a heart of steel To have a heart of stone
Confundir la gimnasia con la magnesia
To confuse gymnastics with magnesia
To mix apples and oranges
Montar un número To put on a number. To make a scene.
Llevar en palmas To carry palm trees To treat like a king. To pamper.
Comer a dos carrillos To eat with two cheeks To serve two masters. To work for two people.
Tomar el pelo a alguien To pull someone`s hair To pull someone`s leg, to make fun of
El vivo retrato de alguien The living portrait of someone The spitting image of someone
Flotar como el corcho en el agua
To float like cork in water To come out on top, come out well despite adversity
No dar el brazo a torcer To not give one`s arm to twist To be stubborn
Cortado por la misma tijera
Cut by the same scissors Very similar, chip off the old block
No dejar piedra sobre piedra
To not leave stone upon stone To leave nothing standing, to destroy completely
Tener alma a acero To have a soul of steel To have a heart of stone, to be without feelings
Hacer alharacas To make a fuss To make a big deal (of something)
Ser plato de segunda mesa
To be a plate of a second table To feel like a second class citizen
A falta de pan, buenas son tortas
Where there is no bread, cakes are fine
It will do just fine. One thing is as good as another.
Quemarse las pestañas To burn one`s eyelashes To burn the midnight oil. To cram
Hijo de la gata, ratones mata
son of the cat kills rats Like father, like son
No van por ahí los tiros The shots aren`t going that way barking up the wrong tree
Ni soñarlo In your dreams No way
Fumarse una clase To smoke oneself a class To skip a class
Irsele a alguien la lengua To make a slip of the tongue Speak without thinking
Pon los pies sobre la tierra
Put your feet on the ground Come down to earth
La sopa boba Crazy soup Life on Easy Street
El día de arreglo de cuentas
The day of settling accounts Day of reckoning
Llevar en palmas To carry with palm trees To treat like a king, pamper
Con las manos en la masa
With the hands in the dough Red-handed
Ponerse las botas To put one`s boots on To make a killing
Huir del fuego y caer en las brasas
To flee from the fire and fall into the coals
From the frying pan into the fire
La despidada de soltero Sending off of the single man Stag party
Darle a uno una buena lejía
To give someone a good dose of bleach
To give someone a good scolding
Hacer mil maromas para To do a thousand acrobatic tricks in order to
To go to a lot of trouble to, to spare no effort to
Bájale de crema a tus tacos
Decrease the cream in your tacos
Don`t exaggerate
Estar al loro To be at the parrot To pay attention, be attentive, be up to date
Criado(a) a lo bruto raised in a brutish way Brought up in a barn
Ser plato de segunda mesa
To be second-table dish To play second fiddle
Jugar con dos barajas To play with two decks To cheat, act with duplicity
Cantar de plano To sing clearly To spill the beans
Echar agua al mar To throw water into the sea To be pointless
Con los brazos cruzados With arms crossed Twiddling one`s thumbs
Marcando ocupado Dialling the busy signal Not understanding anything
Encendérsele el bombillo To have the lightbulb turned on To get a brilliant idea
Más feo que el pecado Uglier than the sin As ugly as sin
Hacer su santa voluntad To do one`s holy will To do as one pleases
Por los buenas o por las malas
For the good or the bad One way or another
No saber ni papa de Not to know even a potato about
To know nothing about
Caer chuzos de punta To rain sharp spears To rain cats and dogs
Tragarle a uno la tierra To be swallowed by the earth To disappear into nowhere
No cerrar la puerta To not close the door to not cut down on choices/options, or, not to burn one`s bridges
Quedar a la altura de su zapatilla
To remain at the height of one`s slipper
To be a failure
Contigo ni a China me voy
I`m not even going to China with you
You`re impossible
Andar de Herodes a Pilato
To walk from Herod to Pilate To go from bad to worse
Ser un espantapájaro To be a scarecrow Ugly as sin
Tener mal templada la guitarra
To have one's guitar badly tuned.
To be in a bad mood
Ser del montón To be of the heap No great shakes, nothing to write home about
Llover sobre mojado To rain over the wetness It never rains but it pours.
Ser más del campo que las amapolas
To be more from the country than the poppies
To be a hick
Estar entre la espada y la pared
To be between the sword and the wall
To be caught between a rock and a hard place
Como pez en el agua Like a fish in the sea To be in one`s element
Un viento de mil demonios
A wind of a thousand demons A howling gale
Estar de veinticinco alfileres
To be of twenty-five pins To be dressed to kill
Tener angel To have an angel to have charm, to be charming
Darle perro a uno To give someone a dog To stand someone up, to break a date
Largar a otro el mochuelo To pass the owl on to someone else
To pass the buck
Dar en un hueso To hit a bone To hit a snag
Flipar en colores To flip colours To be totally amazed
Parecerse como dos gotas de agua
To look like two drops of water To look like two peas in a pod
Tener un tornillo flojo To have a loose screw To be crazy
El mundo es un pañuelo The world is a handkerchief It`s a small world
Toda va viento en popa Everything goes wind at the stern
All is going well
Dejar a uno en la estacada
To leave someone in the stockade
To leave someone in the lurch
No es cosa del otro mundo
It`s not anything from another world
It`s nothing to write home about
Decirle a alguien cuatro verdades
To tell someone four truths To give someone a piece of one`s mind
Coger a alguien con las manos en la masa
To catch someone with his or her hands in the dough
To catch someone red-handed
Costar un ojo de la cara To cost an eye of the face To cost an arm and a leg
Aquello fue llegar y besar el santo
That was arriving and kissing the saint
It was like taking candy from a baby
Andar caminando sobre huevos
To walk stepping on eggs To tread on thin ice
Venir con músicas To come with music To tell tall tales
Reír con risa de conejo To laugh with the laughter of a rabbit
To force a laugh
Empezar la casa por el tejado
To start building the house at the roof
To put the cart before the horse
Ir al grano To go to the seed Get to the point
Faltarle a uno un tornillo to have a screw missing To be nuts
Cortar el bacalao To cut the codfish To rule the roost
No hay mal que por bien no venga
There is not badly that by well come not
Every cloud has a silver lining
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