Like A Spaniard...

Spanish Idiom July 30, 2010

javier1950 — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 17:13:33 +0000

When something is going very well we might say “it’s running like clockwork”. In Spain they use bigger wheels than what you’d find in a clock: “marchar sobre ruedas”. The literal translation is “to run on wheels”.

Spanish Idiom July 29, 2010

javier1950 — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:39:07 +0000

When something escapes us, such as an opportunity that was well in hand, we might use the phrase “to slip through one’s fingers”. In Spanish, it would slip from the hand, as in “írsele a uno por la mano”.

Spanish Saying July 28, 2010

javier1950 — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:50:36 +0000

“Dame pan y dime tonto” literally translates to “give me bread and call me fool”. The idiomatic meaning is “I don’t care what people say as long as I get what I want”.

Spanish Saying July 27, 2010

javier1950 — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:19:42 +0000

When we caution someone who has decided to do something we consider very dangerous, we might say “you’re playing with fire”. A Spanish equivalent warning is “si esta víbora te pica, no hay remedio en la botica”. The literal translation: “if this viper bites you, there’s no remedy in the drugstore”.

Spanish Idiom July 26, 2010

javier1950 — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:01:51 +0000

“Ser uña y carne” literally translates to “to be nail and flesh”. The idiomatic meaning is “to be hand and glove together”.

Spanish Idiom July 23, 2010

javier1950 — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:35:19 +0000

If I am really desperate for something I’d say “I’d give my right arm” for it. A Spaniard would only go so far as to give his right hand, as in “daría my mano derecha”.

Spanish Idiom July 22, 2010

javier1950 — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:02:43 +0000

When a person exaggerates a problem we say “to make a mountain out of a molehill”. There are various equivalents of this phrase in Spanish, including “ahogarse en un vaso de agua”. The literal translation is “to drown in a glass of water”.

Spanish Slang July 21, 2010

javier1950 — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:57:05 +0000

“Hostia” is a word frequently heard in Spain. The literal definition is “communion wafer” or “host”. It is sometimes used by itself as an expletive “¡hostia!”, which is something like “shoot!”, but perhaps a little stronger. Polite people sometimes substitute the similar sounding “¡ostras!”, which means “oysters!”. Another application is “pegarle una hostia”, which translates to “to smack someone a communion wafer”.

Spanish Idiom July 20, 2010

javier1950 — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:21:07 +0000

“Tener buena percha” literally means “to have good hanger”. The idiomatic translation is “to have a good physique”.

Spanish Idiom July 19, 2010

javier1950 — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:11:34 +0000

If you’re really, really lost in Spain, you are “más perdido que Carracuca”, which means “more lost than Carracuca”. Don’t ask me who Carracuca is.