Here’s a phrase that has a similar counterpart in English: “moverse a todos los vientos”. The literal translation is “to move to all the winds”. The English equivalent is “to be as fickle as the wind”.
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30Dec
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard..., Weather Comments: 0
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26Dec
Categories: Royalty/Aristocracy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
A brave person made be said “to fear nothing and nobody”. A Spanish equivalent is “no temer ni rey ni roque”, which means “to fear neither king nor rook”.
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24Dec
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard..., Spices Comments: 0
When we store something away for future use we say we are going “to put it on ice”. A Spanish equivalent phrase uses the opposite preservative: “echar en sal una cosa”. The literal translation is “to throw a thing in salt”. Compare to another English phrase “to salt something away”.
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23Dec
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“Estar frito por hacer algo” literally translates to “to be fried to do something”. English speakers would say “to be dying to do something”.
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22Dec
Categories: Religion, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Lo que usted diga va a misa” literally means “whatever you say goes to mass”. The idiomatic translation is “you couldn’t be more right”.
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21Dec
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“Maldecir como un carretero” means “to swear like a cart driver”. The equivalent phrase in English is “to swear like a trooper”. Carreteros have a pretty bad reputation. See also “fumar como un carretero”.
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19Dec
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Está jorobado” literally translates to “he’s hunchbacked”. The idiomatic meaning is “he’s in a bad mood”.
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18Dec
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A Spanish term for a dunce or nitwit is “tonto de capirote”, which means “fool of penitent’s hood”. If you think about it, a penitent’s hood strongly resembles a dunce cap. Any historical connection?
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17Dec
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
When we force someone to make a complete and sudden stop, we use the phrase “to stop someone in their tracks”. The Spanish equivalent is a bit more graphic: “cortarle a uno las piernas”, which means “to cut someone’s legs off”. Compare to “to take the legs out from someone”.
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16Dec
Categories: Clothing, Professions/Trades, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“¡Zapatero a tus zapatos!” means “Shoemaker to your shoes!”. The idiomatic meaning is “mind your own business”. An American saying using “shoemaker” is “shoemaker’s children got no shoes”. Use this site’s search engine and you will find the Spanish equivalents.