“No dar paz a la lengua” literally means “not to give peace to the tongue”. Equivalent phrases in English are: “not to stop talking” and “not to give the mouth a rest”.
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28Nov
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
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26Nov
Categories: Food, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Extenderse como mancha de aceite” literally translates to “to spread like an oil stain”. The equivalent in English is “to spread like wild fire”.
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25Nov
Categories: DINE Like A Spaniard..., Madrid Comments: 0
My Spanish niece has supplied me with an incredible list of bars and restaurants serving “tapas” in Madrid. I love the name of this one, which means “The Bubble that Laughs”. This locale serves huge mussel stews “cazuelas de mejillones”. It’s Asturian, and is said to always be full. Calle Angél, 16. Metro Puerta de Toledo
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25Nov
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“No me gustaría estar en su pellejo” literally translates to “I wouldn’t want to be in his skin (hide)”. The equivalent phrase in English is “I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes”.
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24Nov
Categories: DINE Like A Spaniard..., Madrid Comments: 0
This establishment is said to be the most renowned bar in Madrid for eating shrimp. Try the “gambas al ajillo”, which is for garlic lovers. Calle Victoria, 12. Metro Sol.
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24Nov
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“¡No te sulfures!” literally means “Don’t sulphurize yourself!”. The idiomatic translation is “Keep your shirt on!” or “Don’t lose your temper!”
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21Nov
Categories: DINE Like A Spaniard..., Madrid Comments: 0
The name says it all: “House of the Beer”. The local contact says to have a beer there and you’ll not regret it. Calle Luchana 15. Metro Bilbao
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21Nov
Categories: Food, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
In English, when we reveal a secret we say “to let the cat out of the bag” or “to spill the beans”. The equivalent phrase in Spanish is “descubrir el pastel”, which means “to uncover the cake”. It is interesting, a propos of the saying “to let the cat out of the bag”, that in Spanish the phrase for “there’s something fishy going on here” is “hay gato encerrado”, which means “there’s a cat holed up”.
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20Nov
Categories: DINE Like A Spaniard..., Zaragoza Comments: 0
The local talent describes this restaurant as one for meat lovers. It’s particularly famous for roast lamb. It also offers classic Spanish desserts as well as whiskey cake. Try their assortment of cheeses. Located at Calle Arquitecto Magdalena 6. Tel. 34 976 226 417. www.asadordearanda.com
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20Nov
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Hair” or “pelo” related idioms are listed under the category of anatomy, but they may deserve one of their own. Here’s a phrase that’s similar in English and Spanish: “no le hemos visto el pelo” literally means “we have not seen his hair”. The equivalent in English is more comprehensive, as in “we have neither hide nor hair of him”.