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SPANISH IDIOMS2

More spanishidioms  
Spanish idioms Literal translation English equivalent Picture representation
Estas en su salsa You are in your sauce You are in your element, ideal place, ideal situation  
Este chico va a su bola This kid's going to the ball This kid does his own thing  
Acostarse con las gallinas To go to bed with the chickens To go to bed early  
Andando, que es gerundio Going, which is gerund We'd better get a move on  
Salir como alma que lleva el diablo To leave like a soul that the Devil is carrying To leave like a bat out of hell  
A ti quien te ha dado vela en este entierro? Who gave you a candle at this funeral? What business is it of yours?  
Mentar la soga en casa del ahorcado To mention the rope in the house of the hanged man To put your foot in it  
Esta tarta está de muerte This cake is incredible This cake is dead good.  
El oro y el moro The gold and the Moor An immense amount of money  
Ponerse las botas To put on boots To be raking (money) it in  
No tener más que el día y la noche To have only the day and the night Not to have two pennies to rub together  
No me des la lata

don ʼt give me the tin

Leave me in peace

 
Comerse los codos de hambre To eat your elbows from hunger Not to have a penny to your name  
Seré una tumba I'll be a tomb I won't breathe a word  
Dar esquinazo (a alguien) To give the corner (to somebody) To avoid someone on purpose  
Dar una paliza To give a pasting To beat up, hit repeatedly  
Hablar por los codos To talk through your elbows To talk nineteen to the dozen  
Ha nacido con un pan debajo del brazo

he was born with bread under his arm

The baby has brought good fortune to the family

 
En el pais de los ciegos, el tuerto es el rey In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king If you know a little bit more about something than everyone else around you, you are the expert  
En boca cerrada no entran moscas Flies can't enter a closed mouth Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut  
Tener ni pies ni cabeza To have no feet or head To not make sense  
Llueve sobre mojado it rains on what's already wet it never rains but it pours  
Estar mal de la azotea To have a problem on your roof terrace to be off your head  
Leer la cartilla a alguien To read the primer to somebody To read somebody the riot act  
tirar del carro to pull the cart to do the donkey work  
peinar canas to comb grey hair to be getting on  
estar hecho un basilisco to be a basilisk to be hopping mad, really mad  
Echar pelillos a la mar to throw little hairs into the sea to bury the hatchet  
no esta el horno para bollos the oven isn't ready for buns the time isn't right  
ser más listo que Lepe to be smarter than Lepe to be very clever  
quemarse las pestañas to single your eyelashes to work late at night, to burn the midnight oil  
estar a partir un piñón to be close enough to split a pine nut to be best friends, best pals  
éramos pocos y parió la abuela there were only a few of us and grandma had a baby just as we thought things could not get any worse  
hacer campana to do bell to play truant  
a otra cosa, mariposa to something else, butterfly let`s move on to something else  
estar en la edad del pavo to be at the age of the turkey to be at that difficult age  
tener a alguien metido en el bote to have somebody put in the jar to have somebody eating out of your hand  
quedar a la altura del betún to be left at the height of shoe polish to make yourself look really bad  
esto sabe a demonios this tastes of devils this tastes really awful  
rascarse el bolsillo to scratch your pocket to put your hand in your pocket  
Me salió del alma It came from the soul I said it without thinking  
Nunca llueve a gusto de todos It never rains to everyone`s taste You can`t always please everyone  
Dar a alguien gato por liebre To give somebody cat instead of hare To sell someone a pig in a poke.To pull a fast one on someone.
Dar-a-alguien-gato-por-liebre.jpg
Romper una lanza a favor de alguien To break a lance for someone To stick your neck out for someone to-stick-your-neck-out-for-someone.jpg
Contra viento y marea against wind and tide against all odds contra-viento-y-marea.jpg
No se parecen ni en el blanco de los ojos They don't resemble each other even in the whites of their eyes They are like chalk and cheese chalk-and-cheese.JPG
Ser un águila To be an eagle To be very sharp eagle-bird-bald-eagle.jpg
Criar gusanos To grow worms To be pushing up daisies pushing-up-daisies.jpg
Ha llovido mucho desde entonces It`s rained a lot since then A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then water-under-the-bridge.jpg
Estirar la pata To stretch your leg To kick the bucket kick-the-bucket.jpg
Saber la biblia en verso To the bible in verse To know absolutely everything Holy-Bible.jpg
Estar hecho un espárrago To be an asparagus To be as thin as a rake asparagus.jpg
Tener pájaros en la cabeza To have birds in your head To be empty headed empty-headed.jpg
Ser uña y carne To be nail and flesh To be inseparable best-friends.jpg
No apearse del burro Not to get down from your donkey To refuse to back down not-get-down-from-donkey.jpg
Al pan pan, y al vino vino Call bread bread, and wine wine I call a spade a spade al-pan-pan-y-al-vino-vino.jpg
Cortarse la coleta To cut off your pigtail To retire, to quit cortarse-la-coleta
Consultarlo con la almohada To consult your pillow about it To sleep on it consultar-la-almohada.jpg
Blanco como la cera As white as wax As white as a sheet
white-as-sheet.jpg
Tener ángel To have angel To be very charming
angels.jpg
Estar como una reina To be like a queen To look beautiful
queen-sofia
Recoger el guante To pick up the glove To rise to the challenge
RisetoChallenge.jpg
El zángano drone idler, lazy bones lazy-bones.jpeg
Tener un jabon To have a soap To be shaken up
tener-un-jabon.jpg
Pelar los dientes To peel the teeth To smile smile.jpg
Tener la cabeza hueca To have the head hollow To be brainless brainless.jpg
Es peor el remedio que la enfermedad The remedy is worse than the disease. It just makes things worse.

The_Remedy.JPG

jugarse la cabeza To bet one's head to bet one's life bet-your-life.jpg
Dar bola a alguien To give someone the ball To pay attention to someone pay-attention-to-me.jpg
Serrucharle el piso a alguien To saw off the floor under someone To cook someone's goose
cook-goose.jpg
Empezar la casa por el tejado To start the house with the roof To put the cart before the horse

empezar la casa por el tejado

Escapar del trueno y dar con el relámpago To escape the thunder and get hit by lightning To jump out of the frying pan into the fire lightning_large.jpg
Saber de que pie cojea alguien To know what foot someone is limping on To know someone's Achilles heal achilles heal
El raton de biblioteca Library mouse Bookworm bookworm
Todo me sale torcido Everything turns out twisted for me Everything turns out badly for me badluck.jpg
Apearse del burro To get off the donkey To back down donkey
Miel sobre hojuelas Honey on pastries Perfect. So much the better honey on pastries
Donde el diablo perdio el poncho Where the devil lost his poncho In a godforsaken spot godforsaken spot
Que lo pase bien May you spend it well Have a good day good-day.jpg
Las desgracias nunca vienen solas Bad things never come alone or one at a time It never rains but it pours it never rains but it pours
Pasar a mejor vida To go to a better life To pass away
pasar a mejor vida
Suerte, valor y al toro luck, courage and the bull The very best of luck to you bulls
Rizar el rizo To curl the curl Make a mountain out of a molehill mounthill.jpg
Estar como un regadera To be like a watering can To have a mind like a sieve. To forget things.
watering can
Matar dos pajaros con un tiro To kill two birds with one shot To kill two birds with one stone two birds with one stone
No pintar nada To not paint anything. To be of no importance. To not have any say. paint
Ir hecho bala To go made into a bullet To go like a shot bullet
Siempre la segundona Always the second one Always the bridesmaid, never the bride bridesmaid
Alli dondes fueres, haz lo que vieres. Where you are, do as you see it. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. romans
Siempre me toca a mi pagar el pato

The duck always touches me for my money

I always end up getting the blame. I always end up taking the rap. I always end up getting the blame
Darle lata a alguien To give someone tin can To give someone a hard time. To upset someone.
spanish tin can
la nesesidad hace maestros the necessity makes teachers necessity is the mother of invention necessity is the mother of invention
Loro viejo no aprende a hablar Old parrot does not learn to speak You can`t teach an old dog new tricks you can`t teach an old dog new tricks
El que rie ultimo,rie mejor He who laughs last, laughs best He who laughs last laughs longest he who laughs last laughs longest
El sapo a la sapa tienela por guapa The male toad to the female toad is considered good-looking Beauty is in the eye of the beholder beauty in eye of beholder
Hablando del rey de Roma - (y el que se asoma) Talking of the king of Rome - (and he appears) talk of the devil - (and the devil appears) talk of the devil
Mas vale tarde que nunca More value late than never better late than never better late than never
Si quieres ser bien servido, sirvete a ti mismo If you want to be well served, serve you to you same If you want a thing done well, do it yourself if you want a thing done well, do it yourself
El tiempo es oro Time is gold Time is money time is money
Reír con risa de conejo To laugh like a rabbit To force a laugh
Reír con risa de conejo

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