| Spanish idioms |
Literal translation |
English equivalent |
Picture representation |
| Ser un águila |
To be an eagle |
To be very sharp |
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| Criar gusanos |
To grow worms |
To be pushing up daisies |
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| Ha llovido mucho desde entonces |
It`s rained a lot since then |
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then |
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| Estirar la pata |
To stretch your leg |
To kick the bucket |
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| Saber la biblia en verso |
To the bible in verse |
To know absolutely everything |
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| Estar hecho un espárrago |
To be an asparagus |
To be as thin as a rake |
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| Tener pájaros en la cabeza |
To have birds in your head |
To be empty headed |
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| Ser uña y carne |
To be nail and flesh |
To be inseparable |
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| No apearse del burro |
Not to get down from your donkey |
To refuse to back down |
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| Al pan pan, y al vino vino |
Call bread bread, and wine wine |
I call a spade a spade |
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| Cortarse la coleta |
To cut off your pigtail |
To retire, to quit |
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| Consultarlo con la almohada |
To consult your pillow about it |
To sleep on it |
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| Blanco como la cera |
As white as wax |
As white as a sheet |
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| Tener ángel |
To have angel |
To be very charming |
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| Estar como una reina |
To be like a queen |
To look beautiful |
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| Recoger el guante |
To pick up the glove |
To rise to the challenge |
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| El zángano |
drone |
idler, lazy bones |
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| Tener un jabon |
To have a soap |
To be shaken up |
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| Pelar los dientes |
To peel the teeth |
To smile |
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| Tener la cabeza hueca |
To have the head hollow |
To be brainless |
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| Es peor el remedio que la enfermedad |
The remedy is worse than the disease. |
It just makes things worse. |
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| jugarse la cabeza |
To bet one's head |
to bet one's life |
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| Dar bola a alguien |
To give someone the ball |
To pay attention to someone |
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| Serrucharle el piso a alguien |
To saw off the floor under someone |
To cook someone's goose |
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| Empezar la casa por el tejado |
To start the house with the roof |
To put the cart before the horse |
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| 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 |
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| Saber de que pie cojea alguien |
To know what foot someone is limping on |
To know someone's Achilles heal |
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| El raton de biblioteca |
Library mouse |
Bookworm |
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| Todo me sale torcido |
Everything turns out twisted for me |
Everything turns out badly for me |
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| Apearse del burro |
To get off the donkey |
To back down |
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| Miel sobre hojuelas |
Honey on pastries |
Perfect. So much the better |
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| Donde el diablo perdio el poncho |
Where the devil lost his poncho |
In a godforsaken spot |
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| Que lo pase bien |
May you spend it well |
Have a good day |
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| Las desgracias nunca vienen solas |
Bad things never come alone or one at a time |
It never rains but it pours |
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| Pasar a mejor vida |
To go to a better life |
To pass away |
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| Suerte, valor y al toro |
luck, courage and the bull |
The very best of luck to you |
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| Rizar el rizo |
To curl the curl |
Make a mountain out of a molehill |
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| Estar como un regadera |
To be like a watering can |
To have a mind like a sieve. To forget things. |
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| Matar dos pajaros con un tiro |
To kill two birds with one shot |
To kill two birds with one stone |
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| No pintar nada |
To not paint anything. |
To be of no importance. To not have any say. |
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| Ir hecho bala |
To go made into a bullet |
To go like a shot |
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| Siempre la segundona |
Always the second one |
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride |
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| Alli dondes fueres, haz lo que vieres. |
Where you are, do as you see it. |
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. |
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| 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. |
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| Darle lata a alguien |
To give someone tin can |
To give someone a hard time. To upset someone. |
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| la nesesidad hace maestros |
the necessity makes teachers |
necessity is the mother of invention |
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| Loro viejo no aprende a hablar |
Old parrot does not learn to speak |
You can`t teach an old dog new tricks |
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| El que rie ultimo,rie mejor |
He who laughs last, laughs best |
He who laughs last laughs longest |
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| 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 |
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| 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) |
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| Mas vale tarde que nunca |
More value late than never |
better late than never |
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| 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 |
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| El tiempo es oro |
Time is gold |
Time is money |
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| Reír con risa de conejo |
To laugh like a rabbit |
To force a laugh |
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