In English we say that “clothes don’t make the man”. The Spanish equivalent is “el hábito no hace al monje”, which means “the habit doesn’t make the monk”.
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28Feb
Categories: Clothing, Religion, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
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27Feb
Categories: Insects, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
A couple of idioms using “telarañas”, which means “cobwebs”. “Mirar las telarañas” is “to look at cobwebs”. The idiomatic translation is “to stargaze”. “Tener telarañas en los ojos ” translates to “to have cobwebs in the eyes”. The colloquial meaning is “to be blind”.
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26Feb
Categories: Clothing, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
The equivalent in Spanish for “at point blank range” is “a quema ropa”. The literal translation is “at burn cloth”.
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25Feb
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In English we employ the phrase “to make a mountain out of a molehill”. The Spanish equivalent is “hacerse de todo una montaña”, which means to make out of everything a mountain”.
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24Feb
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
When we’re angry at someone we might threaten “to break his neck”. An equivalent phrase in Spanish would involve splitting the face, as in “partir la cara a uno”.
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23Feb
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here are two idioms that will teach you how to “pick a fight” with someone in Spanish. “Mojarle a uno la oreja” translates to “to wet someone’s ear”. A more graphic version is “untar la oreja con saliva a uno”, which means “to smear the ear of someone with saliva”.
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20Feb
Categories: Metals/Minerals, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Tirar la piedra y esconder la mano” literally translates to “to throw the stone and to hide the hand”. The idiomatic equivalent is “to hit and run”.
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19Feb
Categories: Astronomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Arrimarse al sol que mas calienta” literally means “to get near the sun that heats the most”. The colloquial meaning is “to get on the winning side”.
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18Feb
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Tirar la casa por la ventana” literally means “to throw the house out the window”. The colloquial translation is “to spare no expense” or “to go overboard”.
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17Feb
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Estar mal en la azotea” translates to “to be bad in the roof”. The equivalent phrase in English is “to have bats in the belfry” or the more common “not to be right in the head”.