26 Spanish Expressions You Want to Know
A toda leche.
Literal translation: At full milk.
Figurative translation: At full speed. At full volume.
Ejemplo: ¡Conduces a toda leche!
Example: You drive very fast!
Ejemplo: Tenía la música a toda leche!
Example: He had the music on at full volume.
A falta de pan buenas son tortas.
Literal translation: When there is no bread, good cakes.
Figurative translation: Half a loaf is better than none.
Ejemplo: Quería encontrar una niñera inglesa pero encontré una que había vivido un par de años en Inglaterra. ¡No es lo que esperaba pero, a falta de pan, buenas son tortas!
Example: I wanted to find an English babysitter but I found one that has lived in England couple of years. Not what I expected but half a loaf is better than none!
A toda leche.
Literal translation: At full milk.
Figurative translation: At full speed. At full volume.
Ejemplo: ¡Conduces a toda leche!
Example: You drive very fast!
Ejemplo: Tenía la música a toda leche!
Example: He had the music on at full volume.
Ahogarse en un vaso de agua.
Literal translation: To drown in a glass of water.
Figurative translation: To not react when there is a problem that is not really complicated to solve or to worry about an insignificant danger.
Ejemplo: ¡Tranquila! ¡Siempre te ahogas en un vaso de agua y no es para tanto!
Example: Calm down! You are always worrying about a problem that is not tricky to solve!
Arrimar el ascua a su sardina.
Literal translation: To place your sardine near ember.
Figurative translation: To make a profit out of something that should be a commonwealth.
Origin: The Andalusian idiom dates back to the times, in which farmhouse workers were given sardines for their efforts and some of the workers that knew they would get payed before the others would have already taken the common coal.
Ejemplo: ¡Oye, siempre arrimas tú el ascua a tu sardina! ¡Deberías compartirlo con tus colegas!
Example: Hey, you are only looking out for yourself! You should share it with your colleagues!
Caerse de un guindo.
Literal translation: To fall from a morello cherry tree.
Figurative translation: To realise something that is obvious to remark.
Ejemplo: ¡No me cai de un guindo ayer!
Example: I wasn't born yesterday!
Dar calabazas a alguien.
Literal translation: To give pumpkins to someone.
Figurative translation: To be rejected or to reject. To have a knock-back. To give someone the cold shoulder.
The idiom can be used when someone is left alone at a place and the long-awaited person doesn't show up or when someone hits on someone and receives a negative answer.
Origin: In Ancient Greece, pumpkins were considered to be an anti-aphrodisiac. The consumption of pumpkin seeds was advised to clean a dirty mind. In some rural areas of Catalonia, the husband candidate would be invited to the girl's house: if the family to offer a cigar, it would mean that the family accepted the marriage if he to be served a pumpkin on a plate, he is not well received and he has to leave.
Ejemplo: ¿Si me has enamorado, por qué entonces me diste calabazas,?
Example: If you were in love with me then why you rejected me?
Dar las uvas.
Literal translation: To give the grapes.
Figurative translation: To wait for someone a very long time or to wait forever and a day.
Origin: The Spanish tradition of eating twelve grapes in the last light of the year, finely describes how the waiting period felt like a year.
Ejemplo: ¡Siempre nos dan las uvas esperando a Fernando!
Example: We always wait for Fernando forever and a day!
Darse una leche.
Literal translation: To give itself milk.
Figurative translation: To crash.
Ejemplo: ¡Estas conduciendo a toda leche con la música a toda leche! Probablemente te das una leche pronto!
Example: You are driving at full speed and you also have the music full up! You will probably crush the car soon!
Darse una torta.
Literal translation: To give yourself a cake.
Figurative translation: To fall down. To slap someone or to get slapped.
Ejemplo: Iba muy borracho y como en la calle había hielo, resbaló y se dio una torta.
Example: He was so drunk as there was ice on the street, he slipped and fell down.
Ejemplo II: Estuvo molestando a una chica y al final su novio, le dio una torta.
Example II: He was annoying a girl and then his boyfriend slapped him.
Es pan comido.
Literal translation: To be an eaten bread.
Figurative translation: To be something very easy to make or to achieve.
Ejemplo: Este examen era pan comido: sólo tenía 3 ejercicios.
Example: This exam was a piece of cake: it only had 3 exercises.
Importar un pimiento.
Literal translation: To matter a pepper.
Figurative translation: To be not relevant, to not have an effect, to not be important.
Ejemplo: Este chico ya no quiere verme pero me importa un pimiento: he conocido a otro mejor.
Example: This guy doesn't want to see me anymore but I don't even care: I already met someone better than him.
Mandar a alguien a freír espárragos.
Literal translation: To send someone to fry asparagus.
Figurative translation: To be cross with somebody.
Ejemplo: ¡Ya te he dicho que no quiero volver a verte! ¡Déjame en paz y vete a freír espárragos!
Example: I already told you that I don't want to see you anymore! Leave me alone and let it all go!
Ser carne de cañón.
Literal translation: To be the meat of cannon.
Figurative translation: To be treated without care, to be not important.
Ejemplo: En la oficina donde trabajo, todos los becarios son carne de cañón.
Example: At the office where I work, all the scholars have no importance.
Ser la leche.
Literal translation: To be the milk.
Figurative translation: To be extraordinarily good or extraordinarily bad.
Ejemplo: ¡Eres la leche! ¡Me salvaste la vida!
Example: You are the greatest! You saved my life!
Ejemplo: ¡Este tío es la leche! ¿Cómo alguien puede ser tan egocéntrico?
Example: This guy is disgusting! How can someone be so self-obsessed?
Ser un chorizo.
Literal translation: To be chorizo.
Figurative translation: To be a thief. To leave things to other people.
Ejemplo: En España la mayoría de los políticos son todos unos chorizos.
Example: In Spain, the majority of the politicians are thieves.
Tener mala leche.
Literal translation: To have bad milk.
Figurative translation: To be angry. To have bad milk is to be in a bad mood or to be ill-tempered.
It is used when a person has a bad character it can also mean to have a sneaky plan or a proposal. bad intensions.The origin of the expression goes back to the old belief that the milk with which he was breastfeeding influenced the character.
Ejemplo: Mi jefe tiene muy mala leche así que es mejor hacer siempre todo lo que dice.
Example: My boss is bad-tempered so it is better to do whatever he says.
Pedirle peras al olmo.
Literal translation: To ask for pears to the elm tree.
Figurative translation: To ask for something almost impossible and the person in question is not capable of providing it. To expect too much from something.
Ejemplo: Parece que querer un político honrado es pedirle peras al olmo...
Example: It seems like asking for a politician with pride is asking for too much...
Ponerse como un tomate.
Literal translation: To put yourself like a tomato.
Figurative translation: To get extremely embarrassed, to blush up from embarrassment.
Ejemplo: ¡Cada vez que me mira me pongo como un tomate!
Example: Every time he looks at me, I blush up!
Sacarle a alguien las castañas del fuego.
Literal translation: To remove someone' s chestnuts from the fire.
Figurative translation: To do the job of someone else, to solve the problem of someone else.
Ejemplo: Mi colega es un desastre, nunca hace el trabajo y siempre le tengo que sacar las castañas del fuego.
Example: My colleague is a total mess, he never does his work and always I have to do his part.
Ser un melón.
Literal translation: To be a melon.
Figurative translation: To have one's head in the clouds. To be airy-fairy.
Ejemplo: Eres un melón, cariño... Ya te he explicado mil veces cómo buscar en Google y todavía lo haces mal.
Example: You are so airy-fairy, honey... I explained you thousand times how to do a research on Google, yet you still can't do it right.
NUEVAS FRASES a corregir!!!
A beber y a tragar, que el mundo se va a acabar.
Literal translation: Drink and swallow, as the world is going to end.
Figurative translation: Eat, drink and be merry, as life is too short.
Origin: I think this is an idiom from Latin America?
Ejemplo: — ??
Example: — ??
A buen hambre no hay pan duro.
Literal translation: For a good hunger, there's no hard bread.
Figurative translation: Beggars can't be choosers.
Origin: The ancient idiom has produced many variant idioms such as «A buen hambre no hay pan duro, ni falta salsa a ninguno», meaning «For a good hunger, there's no hard bread, nor the absence of sauce is felt.» When you are hungry, you have to eat what you find and not make any objections to the quality of what you have at your disposal or what is offered.
Ejemplo: A buen hambre no hay pan duro, como to lo que el alcaide me da.
Example: Beggars can't be choosers, I eat whatever the warden gives me.
En casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo.
Literal translation: In blacksmith's house, a wooden knife.
Figurative translation: The shoemaker's son always goes barefoot.
Origin: The Spanish idiom is coined in mid 16th century, meaning that the family of a skilled or knowledgeable person are often the last to benefit from their expertise. In 1454, Marqués de Santillana mentioned the idiom in his book «Refranes que dizen las viejas tras el fuego». The Cervantes Institute indicates that it can also be used when children do not follow their parents' profession.
Ejemplo: — ¡Gracias por reparar mi coche! Por cierto, tu moto de Harley se ve muy guay... ¿Puedo llevarlo a dar un paseo?
— ¡O, tío ya me gustaría! No he tenido tiempo de repararlo todavía... ¡Ya sabes en casa del herrero, cuchillo de palo!
Example: — Thank you for fixing my car! By the way, your Harley motorbike looks really cool! Can I take it for a ride?
— Oh, I wish! I haven't got time to fix it still... You know the shoemaker's son always goes barefoot!
La mejor salsa del mundo es el hambre.
Literal translation: The best sauce in the world is the hunger.
Figurative translation: Hunger is always the best sauce. Everything tastes good when you are hungry.
Origin: The Spanish idiom is coined in mid 15th century, Cervantes have used this idiom in the second part of his book «El Quijote».
Ejemplo: — ¡Mmm, yo he comido todo! Aún la comida que se cayó al suelo, como todo me sabe bien aquí!
— ¿Quizás sea porque ya tenías mucho hambre? Era simplemente pan y queso...
Example: — Mmm, I have eaten everything! Even the food that fell on the floor, as everything tastes so good here!
— Maybe it's because you were really hungry? It was only bread and cheese...