Here are some idioms using “cara”, which means “face”. “Nos veremos las caras” is a phrase that connotes a threat. The literal translation is “we will see our faces”. In English the equivalent phrase is “I’ll see you later”. In English we speak of there being “two sides to an issue”. In Spanish, there are two “faces”, as in “las dos caras de un asunto”. Finally, we have “caradura”, which means “hard-face”. The colloquial equivalent in English is “cheeky devil”. A variation is “tener mucha cara”, which means “to have a lot of face”.
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31Oct
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
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30Oct
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
When we’re working really hard we might employ the phrase ‘working like a slave’. In Spanish, there several versions ‘trabajar como un condenado (convict) una bestia (beast) un mulo (mule)’.
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29Oct
Categories: Bread, Numbers, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here´s a saying that combines the categories of ‘bread’ and ‘numbers’: ‘A pan de quince dias, hambre de tres semanas’. The literal translation is ‘to bread of fifteen days, hunger of three weeks’. The colloquial equivalent in English is ‘hunger makes the best sauce’. I am also reminded of Henry Fielding’s observation that ‘hunger is better than a French chef’.
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28Oct
Categories: Animals, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Dar gato por liebre a uno” literally translates to “to give cat for hare to someone”. The idiomatic translation is “to fool someone” or “to sell someone a pig in a poke”.
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27Oct
Categories: Fruit, SPEAK Like A Spaniard..., Vegetable Comments: 0
Today’s idiom I have put under the categories of both fruit and vegetable. “Mas rojo que un tomate” means “redder than a tomato”. The colloquial meaning relates to embarassment rather than sunburn, for which there are other terms that will be posted.
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24Oct
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here are three idioms using “estribo”, which means “stirrup”. “Perder los estribos” translates to “to ose the stirrups”. The idiomatic translation is “to lose one’s temper” or “to fly off the handle”. “Con el pie en el estribo” means “with one foot in the stirrup”. The colloquial meaning is “to be about ready to leave”. “hacer estribos con las manos a uno” translates to “to make stirrups with the hands to someone”. In English we would say “to give someone a leg up”.
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23Oct
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
A couple more of “pelo”, which means “hair” related idioms. “A contra pelo” literally translates to “against hair”. The equivalent phrases in English are “against the grain” or “the wrong way”. On the other hand, when something is done perfectly, the phrase used is “al pelo”, which means “to the hair”. A he-man in Spanish is a “man of hair on chest”, as in “hombre de pelo en pecho”. Check the search engine for more “pelo” idioms.
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22Oct
Categories: DINE Like A Spaniard..., Madrid Comments: 0
My inside source informs that this is a fun place. The menu includes octopus and soft shell crab. Also check out Club Okra for drinks. Located at Calle Fernando El Santo 26. Metro Colon. Tel. 34 913 658 217. www.okramadrid.com
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22Oct
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here’s a Spanish idiomatic phrase that has a literal equivalent in English, but one with a different meaning. “Aun no ha salido del cascaron” literally translates to “he hasn’t yet come out of the shell”. The colloquial meaning is “he’s still a baby”. In English we might describe a shy or diffident person who becomes more assertive as “coming out of his shell”.
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21Oct
Categories: Clothing, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here are two idioms using “camisa”, which means “shirt”. “perder hasta la camisa” means “to lose even the shirt”, which is nearly identical to “to lose one’s shirt”. “No llegar a uno la camisa al cuerpo” literally translates to “not to reach to one the shirt to the body”. The colloquial meaning is “to be scared stiff”.