In English one hears the phrase “to melt a heart of stone” when one gets a hard-hearted person to do something nice. In Spanish such a feat invlolves “softening rocks”, as in “ablandar las piedras”.
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26Feb
Categories: Metals/Minerals, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
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25Feb
Categories: Animals, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Pajarita” means “little bird”. It is also the word for “bow tie”.
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24Feb
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“A pillo, pillo y medio” literally means “to a scoundrel, a scroundrel and a half”. A similar phrase in English is “set a thief to catch a thief”.
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23Feb
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here are some idiomatic expressions employing the word “codo”, which means “elbow”. “Hablar por los codos” translates to “to speak by the elbows”. The colloquial meaning is “to be a real chatterbox”. “Mentir por los codos” signifies “to lie by the elbows”. Not surprisingly, it means “to be a real liar”. “Aprobar un examen a base de codos” translates to “to pass an exam on the base of elbows”. It means “to pass an exam by sheer hard work”. Think of “elbow grease”.
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22Feb
Categories: Numbers, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here are two number related phrases using “tres” or “three”. “En un dos por tres” means “in a two by three”. The colloquial translation is “in a jiffy” or “in a flash”. “No hay dos sin tres” literally translates to “there is no two without three”. The equivalent phrase in English would be “misfortunes always come in threes”. But what about the saying “third time is a charm”?
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19Feb
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard..., Spices Comments: 0
In Spanish, when one says something with a lot of wit, one is said to say it with “his salt and pepper”, as in “con su sal y pimienta”. In Spanish, “the spice of life” becomes “the salt of life”, as in “la sal de la vida”.
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18Feb
Categories: Anatomy, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here are two idioms using the word “puños”, which means “fists”. “Comerse los puños” translates to “to eat one’s fists”. The idiomatic meaning is “to be famished”. “Apretar los puños” signifies “to squeeze the fists”. The colloquial meaning is “to try one’s best”.
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17Feb
Categories: SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
Here’s a Spanish idiom involving weight: “no tiene dos quilates de juicio”. The literal translation is “he doesn’t have two carats of sense”. Compare to the English version: “he hasn’t got an ounce of sense”.
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16Feb
Categories: Religion, SPEAK Like A Spaniard..., Weapons Comments: 0
“A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando” literally translates to “to God praying and with the mallet giving”. The equivalent phrase in English is “God helps those who help themselves”.
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12Feb
Categories: Animals, SPEAK Like A Spaniard... Comments: 0
“Cochinada” is derived from “cochino”, which is a “pig”, and signifies something a pig would do. “Decir cochinadas” means “to use foul language”. “Hacer una cochinada a alguien” means “to play a dirty trick on someone”.