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Like A Spaniard…

• Spanish Idiom July 31, 2008

  31Jul
  Categories: Metals/Minerals Comments: 0

  When a secret is revealed and everybody is aware of it, we would say “the whole world knows it”. In Spanish, one would say that “even the stones know it”, as in “hasta las piedras lo saben”

• Spanish Idiom July 30, 2008

  30Jul
  Categories: Animals Comments: 0

  “Tener mas cara que un buey con paperas” literally translates to “to have more face than an ox with goiters”. The idiomatic translation is “to be a cheeky devil”. To be brash or bold in Spanish is to have “a lot of face”, as in “tener mucha cara”. In English we might also say “to have a lot of nerve”.

• Spanish Idiom July 29, 2008

  29Jul
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  “That’s another story” is a phrase we often hear. The Spanish equivalent uses “chapter”, as in “eso es otro capitulo”.

• Spanish Idiom July 28, 2008

  28Jul
  Categories: Animals Comments: 0

  A couple of idioms using “pavo”, which means “turkey”. “Comer pavo” means “to eat turkey”. The idiomatic mtranslation is “to be a wallflower”. A related idiom is “tener pavo”  which means “to have turkey”. The colloquial meaning is “to be shy or timid”.

• Spanish saying July 25, 2008

  25Jul
  Categories: Clothing Comments: 0

  “Una buena capa todo lo tapa” literally means “a good cape covers everything”. In English, we would say “you can’t judge a book by its cover” or “appearances can be deceiving”.

• Spanish Idiom July 24, 2008

  24Jul
  Categories: Clothing Comments: 0

  “De botones adentro” literally means “from buttons inward”. Colloquial equivalents in English are” “deep down inside” and “in one’s heart of hearts”.

• Spanish Idiom July 23, 2008

  23Jul
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  “No pintar nada” literally means “Not to paint anything”. The colloquial meanings are: “not to fit in”; “to be out of place”; and “to cut no ice”.

• Spanish Idiom July 22, 2008

  22Jul
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  “Para este viaje no se necesitan alforjas” literally translates to “for this trip saddlebags are not needed”. The colloquial equivalent is “a fat lot of good that is”.

• Spanish Saying June 16, 2008

  22Jul
  Categories: Uncategorized Comments: 0

  Here’s a saying that has a very similar counterpart in English: “Los trapos sucios se lavan en casa” literally translates to “the dirty rags are washed at home”. We know this as “don’t wash your dirty linen in public”.

• Spanish Idiom July 21, 2008

  21Jul
  Categories: Religion Comments: 0

  “Ir como alma que lleva el diablo” literally translates to “to go like soul that the devil carries away”. In English we might say “to run like hell”.