| 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 |
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| Este chico va a su bola |
This kid's going to the ball |
This kid does his own thing |
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| Acostarse con las gallinas |
To go to bed with the chickens |
To go to bed early |
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| Andando, que es gerundio |
Going, which is gerund |
We'd better get a move on |
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| 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 |
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| A ti quien te ha dado vela en este entierro? |
Who gave you a candle at this funeral? |
What business is it of yours? |
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| Mentar la soga en casa del ahorcado |
To mention the rope in the house of the hanged man |
To put your foot in it |
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| Esta tarta está de muerte |
This cake is incredible |
This cake is dead good. |
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| El oro y el moro |
The gold and the Moor |
An immense amount of money |
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| Ponerse las botas |
To put on boots |
To be raking (money) it in |
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| 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 |
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No me des la lata
|
don ʼt give me the tin
|
Leave me in peace
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| Comerse los codos de hambre |
To eat your elbows from hunger |
Not to have a penny to your name |
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| Seré una tumba |
I'll be a tomb |
I won't breathe a word |
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| Dar esquinazo (a alguien) |
To give the corner (to somebody) |
To avoid someone on purpose |
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| Dar una paliza |
To give a pasting |
To beat up, hit repeatedly |
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| Hablar por los codos |
To talk through your elbows |
To talk nineteen to the dozen |
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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
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| 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 |
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| En boca cerrada no entran moscas |
Flies can't enter a closed mouth |
Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut |
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| Tener ni pies ni cabeza |
To have no feet or head |
To not make sense |
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| Llueve sobre mojado |
it rains on what's already wet |
it never rains but it pours |
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| Estar mal de la azotea |
To have a problem on your roof terrace |
to be off your head |
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| Leer la cartilla a alguien |
To read the primer to somebody |
To read somebody the riot act |
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| tirar del carro |
to pull the cart |
to do the donkey work |
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| peinar canas |
to comb grey hair |
to be getting on |
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| estar hecho un basilisco |
to be a basilisk |
to be hopping mad, really mad |
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| Echar pelillos a la mar |
to throw little hairs into the sea |
to bury the hatchet |
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| no esta el horno para bollos |
the oven isn't ready for buns |
the time isn't right |
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| ser más listo que Lepe |
to be smarter than Lepe |
to be very clever |
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| quemarse las pestañas |
to single your eyelashes |
to work late at night, to burn the midnight oil |
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| estar a partir un piñón |
to be close enough to split a pine nut |
to be best friends, best pals |
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| 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 |
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| hacer campana |
to do bell |
to play truant |
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| a otra cosa, mariposa |
to something else, butterfly |
let`s move on to something else |
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| estar en la edad del pavo |
to be at the age of the turkey |
to be at that difficult age |
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| tener a alguien metido en el bote |
to have somebody put in the jar |
to have somebody eating out of your hand |
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| quedar a la altura del betún |
to be left at the height of shoe polish |
to make yourself look really bad |
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| esto sabe a demonios |
this tastes of devils |
this tastes really awful |
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| rascarse el bolsillo |
to scratch your pocket |
to put your hand in your pocket |
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| Me salió del alma |
It came from the soul |
I said it without thinking |
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| Nunca llueve a gusto de todos |
It never rains to everyone`s taste |
You can`t always please everyone |
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| 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. |
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| Romper una lanza a favor de alguien |
To break a lance for someone |
To stick your neck out for someone |
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| Contra viento y marea |
against wind and tide |
against all odds |
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| 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 |
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| 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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