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Spanish idioms Literal translation English equivalent Rascarse la barriga To scratch your belly To sit on your backside and do nothing Ahogarse en un vaso de agua To drown in a glass of water To make a mountain out of a molehill. Estar hecho un Adán To be like Adam To look a mess Un hombre de pelo en pecho A man with hair on his chest A real man Picture representa Beber los aires por alguien To drink the breezes for somebody To be madly in love with someone Estar hasta las narices de To be up to the nostrils with algo something Fed up to the back teeth with something Mientras que en mi casa estoy, rey soy While in my house I am king A man`s home is his castle Llevar a alguien por la calle de la amargura To lead somebody down misery To make somebody`s life a misery street Sobre gustos no hay nada escrito About taste there is nothing written down There is no accounting for taste Tener la cabeza como una bola de billar To have a head like a billiard ball To be as bald as a coot Tener cara de pascua To have an Easter face To be grinning broadly Estar mas sano que una pera To be healthier than a pear To be as fit as a fiddle Hacer las cuentas de la lechera To the milkmaid`s sums To count your chickens before they are hatched No estar bien sentado To be a backside that can't sit still To have ants in your pants Ni de aquí a Lima Not from here to Lima Not by a long chalk. There is just no comparison Tener cara de pascua To have an Easter face To be grinning from ear to ear Las mentiras tienen patas Lies have short legs cortas The truth will out (lies won't get you very far). Entre col y col, lechuga Between cabbage and cabbage, lettuce. Variety is the spice of life Esto no tiene mucha ciencia This doesn`t have a lot of science There is nothing difficult about it Untar la mano de alguien To grease somebody`s hand To grease somebody`s palm. To influence someone by giving them money. Ser mas fuerte que un roble To be stronger than an oak tree To be as strong as an ox Al pie de la letra To the foot of the letter Las vacas gordas The fat cows The boom years Lo saben hasta las piedras Even stones know that Everyone knows that Tener buen diente To have a good tooth To have a healthy appetite To the letter, or exactly Tener a alguien entre ojos To have somebody between your eyes To have it in for someone Se armó la de San Quintín What happened at San Quintin all hell broke out broke out Estar mas loco que una cabra To be madder than a goat To be as mad as a hatter Meter la cuchara To put in your spoon To stick your oar in Poner toda la carne en el To put all the meat on the asador barbecue Pull out all the stops Cambiar el chip To change one`s chip To change your way of thinking Eso está hecho That`s done It`s a sure thing (promise) No saber ni papa de Not to know even a potato about To know nothing about Alzarse con el santo y la limosna To take off with the saint and the alms. To clear off with everything Hacer algo volando To do something on the fly To do something quickly Préstame la guitarra Lend me the guitar Let me get a word in Meterse en el sobre To put oneself in one`s envelope To go to bed, to hit the sack A jalones y estirones at pulls and stretches Kicking and screaming / with lots of effort Rascarse el bolsillo To scratch the pocket Spend money unwillingly Estoy que me caigo I am about to fall I am not feeling well Quemar las naves To burn one`s shipd To burn one`s bridges Tener mucha cuerda To have a lot of chord To have a lot of life left in them. Bajar a todos los santos To get all the saints down. To try everything when you are up against it. Echar leña al fuego To add fuel to the fire To make things worse Lanzar un rollo To throw a roll To start a long story Que si patatín que si patatán And so on and so on blah, blah, blah, blah Mírate en ese espejo Look at yourself in that mirror Let that be a lesson to you Navegar con bandera de inocente To sail with the flag of an innocent To play dumb. To pretend to be innocent but have a motive for it. Ni corto ni perezoso Neither short nor lazy Doing it right away. Without losing any time Liso y llano Smooth and flat, as a road A piece of cake. Easy. La procesión va por dentro The procession goes on the inside Bottling it all up. Por un tubo Through a pipe Abundantly. Mirar los toros desde la barrera To look at the bulls from behind To stay out of harm`s way the barrier Ya tener una pata allí To now have a paw in there To have a foot in the door Estar como pez en el agua To be like a fish in water To be in one`s element. To enjoy your own comforts. Tapando el sol con un dedo Covering the sun with a finger Covering things up. Hijos de muchas madres Children of many mothers All kinds of people. A diverse group of people. Pintarse solo para una cosa To paint oneself alone for something To be very skillful at something Pisarle los callos a alguien To step on someone`s callouses To bother someone without reason Sin cruzar palabra Without crossing word Without saying a word Que lo haga Rita Let Rita do it Let someone else do it La flor y nata The flower and whipped cream Upper crust. Highest social class. Pagar por sustos To pay in frights To buy on credit Los gajes del oficio The matters of the trade. Part and parcel of the job. Occupational hazards. Tener a alguien en el alma To have someone in one's soul To feel for someone who is having problems. To want to help Llover a cántaros To rain tanks/pitchers Raining buckets Tener buen diente To have good tooth To be a big eater. To have a hollow leg Fresco Fresh Cool as a cucumber. Not worried Estar muy potable To be very drinkable To look attractive Partirse de la risa To split with laughter To crack up with laughter Dar en el clavo To strike home To be spot on. To hit the nail on the head. Mucho ojo, que la vista engaña Much eye, the sight deceives Appearances are deceptive Darle lata a alguien To give someone tin can To give someone a hard time. To upset someone. Quedarse para vestir santos To stay dressing saints To remain an old maid Llevar la batuta To carry the baton To have great influence. To call the shots. Big shot. A mí, me importa un pito lo que pienses To me, I give a damn what you I don't give a toss what you think think Tirarse los trastos a la cabeza To throw junk at the head to have a blazing row. Para dar y tomar To give and take In abundance. To burn. ex. money Bailar en la cuerda floja To dance on the tightrope To try to do many things at once Tener los nervios de punta To have one's nerves standing To have one's nerves on edge Hacer San Lunes Make Saint Monday To skive off work on Mondays Sufrir un ataque de cuernos To suffer an attack of horns To go into a jealous rage Estar colgado To be hung, suspended To be in love. To have a crush Hay ropa tendida There is clothing hung out to dry The coast is not clear. Be careful De buenas a primeras From good ones to first ones On the spur of the moment Poderoso caballero es Don Dinero Mighty gentleman is Don Money Money makes the world go round / Money is power, power is money Ser uña y carne To be fingernail and flesh. To be bosom buddies. Buscarle las pulgas a alguien To look for someone`s fleas To irritate someone. To provoke Seguir en sus trece To keep in one`s thirteen To persist. To stick to one`s guns. Siempre me toca bailar con la más fea I always have to dance with the I always get the short end of the stick / I ugliest girl. always draw the short straw. Salir por la ventana To leave through the window To sneak out the back door. Tengamos la fiesta en paz We have the peace party. Let`s have some peace and quiet. Revolver el gallinero To stir the chicken To put the cat among the pigeons. A falta de pan, buenas son tortas Where there is no bread, cakes It will do just fine. One thing is as good as are fine. another. Para parar un tren To stop a train In large quantities. Tons of Salir el tiro por la culata To have the shot go out the butt To backfire. To have the opposite result of the rifle from what was anticipated. Empezar la casa por el tejado To begin the house with the roof To put the cart before the horse Atar cabos To tie ends To put two and two together Tonto de capirote Idiot chief Dope of dopes. Really stupid Tiene un humor de perros He`s in a dog mood He`s in a foul mood Para colmo de desgracias For the culmination of misfortunes To top it all off Un clavo saca otro clavo One nail takes out another nail. One problem overshadows another. Estar como agua para chocolate To be like water for chocolate. To be at boiling point (anger or passion) Echar flores To throw flowers To pat on the back. To compliment Dar en la torre To give in the tower To hit hard. To hurt someone where they are vulnerable Un hotel de mala muerte a hotel of bad death A grotty hotel Correr como un galgo To run like a greyhound To run like a gazelle Valer su peso en oro To be worth its weight in gold To be worth a fortune Acostarse con las gallinas To go to bed with the chickens To go to bed early Aflojar la cuerda To loosen the cord To take a breather Poner en las nubes To put in the clouds To praise to the skies. To highly praise. Estar metida en un rollo To be put in a roll To get into a bind. To get into hot water. En boca cerrada no entran moscas In a closed mouth flies don`t enter. Loose talk can get you into trouble. El hijo de papá Daddy`s child Rich kid. Kid who has everything provided for them. Más loco que una cabra Crazier than a she-goat Mad as a hatter Reparar en migajas To notice crumbs To split hairs. To pay attention to unimportant things instead of the bigger issues. No dar pie con bola To not hit the ball with one`s foot To not be correct. To make a mess of things. To not do things right Donde el diablo perdió el poncho Where the devil lost his poncho In a god-forsaken spot Meterse en el sobre To put oneself in the envelope To hit the sack. To go to bed Meter la cuchara To put in the spoon To put in one`s two penny worth Chiste rojo Red joke Dirty joke No calentar el asiento To not warm the seat To not last long Tener un corazón de acero To have a heart of steel To have a heart of stone Confundir la gimnasia con To confuse gymnastics with la magnesia magnesia To mix apples and oranges Montar un número To put on a number. To make a scene. Llevar en palmas To carry palm trees To treat like a king. To pamper. Comer a dos carrillos To eat with two cheeks To serve two masters. To work for two people. Tomar el pelo a alguien To pull someone`s hair To pull someone`s leg, to make fun of El vivo retrato de alguien The living portrait of someone The spitting image of someone Flotar como el corcho en el agua To float like cork in water To come out on top, come out well despite adversity No dar el brazo a torcer To not give one`s arm to twist To be stubborn Cortado por la misma tijera Cut by the same scissors Very similar, chip off the old block No dejar piedra sobre piedra To not leave stone upon stone To leave nothing standing, to destroy completely Tener alma a acero To have a soul of steel To have a heart of stone, to be without feelings Hacer alharacas To make a fuss To make a big deal (of something) Ser plato de segunda mesa To be a plate of a second table To feel like a second class citizen A falta de pan, buenas son tortas Where there is no bread, cakes It will do just fine. One thing is as good as are fine another. Quemarse las pestañas To burn one`s eyelashes To burn the midnight oil. To cram Hijo de la gata, ratones mata son of the cat kills rats Like father, like son No van por ahí los tiros The shots aren`t going that way barking up the wrong tree Ni soñarlo In your dreams No way Fumarse una clase To smoke oneself a class To skip a class Irsele a alguien la lengua To make a slip of the tongue Speak without thinking Pon los pies sobre la tierra Come down to earth Put your feet on the ground La sopa boba Crazy soup Life on Easy Street El día de arreglo de cuentas The day of settling accounts Day of reckoning Llevar en palmas To carry with palm trees To treat like a king, pamper Con las manos en la masa With the hands in the dough Red-handed Ponerse las botas To put one`s boots on To make a killing Huir del fuego y caer en las brasas To flee from the fire and fall into From the frying pan into the fire the coals La despidada de soltero Sending off of the single man Stag party Darle a uno una buena lejía To give someone a good dose of bleach To give someone a good scolding Hacer mil maromas para To do a thousand acrobatic tricks in order to To go to a lot of trouble to, to spare no effort to Bájale de crema a tus tacos Decrease the cream in your tacos Don`t exaggerate Estar al loro To be at the parrot To pay attention, be attentive, be up to date Criado(a) a lo bruto raised in a brutish way Brought up in a barn Ser plato de segunda mesa To be second-table dish To play second fiddle Jugar con dos barajas To play with two decks To cheat, act with duplicity Cantar de plano To sing clearly To spill the beans Echar agua al mar To throw water into the sea To be pointless Con los brazos cruzados With arms crossed Twiddling one`s thumbs Marcando ocupado Dialling the busy signal Not understanding anything Encendérsele el bombillo To have the lightbulb turned on To get a brilliant idea Más feo que el pecado Uglier than the sin As ugly as sin Hacer su santa voluntad To do one`s holy will To do as one pleases Por los buenas o por las malas For the good or the bad One way or another No saber ni papa de Not to know even a potato about To know nothing about Caer chuzos de punta To rain sharp spears To rain cats and dogs Tragarle a uno la tierra To be swallowed by the earth To disappear into nowhere No cerrar la puerta To not close the door to not cut down on choices/options, or, not to burn one`s bridges Quedar a la altura de su zapatilla To remain at the height of one`s slipper To be a failure Contigo ni a China me voy I`m not even going to China with you You`re impossible Andar de Herodes a Pilato To walk from Herod to Pilate To go from bad to worse Ser un espantapájaro To be a scarecrow Ugly as sin Tener mal templada la guitarra To have one's guitar badly tuned. To be in a bad mood Ser del montón To be of the heap No great shakes, nothing to write home about Llover sobre mojado To rain over the wetness It never rains but it pours. Ser más del campo que las amapolas To be more from the country than the poppies To be a hick Estar entre la espada y la To be between the sword and pared the wall To be caught between a rock and a hard place Como pez en el agua To be in one`s element Like a fish in the sea Un viento de mil demonios A wind of a thousand demons A howling gale Estar de veinticinco alfileres To be of twenty-five pins To be dressed to kill Tener angel To have an angel to have charm, to be charming Darle perro a uno To give someone a dog To stand someone up, to break a date Largar a otro el mochuelo To pass the owl on to someone To pass the buck else Dar en un hueso To hit a bone To hit a snag Flipar en colores To flip colours To be totally amazed Parecerse como dos gotas de agua To look like two drops of water To look like two peas in a pod Tener un tornillo flojo To have a loose screw To be crazy El mundo es un pañuelo The world is a handkerchief It`s a small world Toda va viento en popa Everything goes wind at the stern All is going well Dejar a uno en la estacada To leave someone in the stockade To leave someone in the lurch No es cosa del otro mundo It`s not anything from another world It`s nothing to write home about Decirle a alguien cuatro verdades To tell someone four truths To give someone a piece of one`s mind Coger a alguien con las manos en la masa To catch someone with his or her hands in the dough To catch someone red-handed Costar un ojo de la cara To cost an eye of the face To cost an arm and a leg Aquello fue llegar y besar That was arriving and kissing el santo the saint It was like taking candy from a baby Andar caminando sobre huevos To walk stepping on eggs To tread on thin ice Venir con músicas To come with music To tell tall tales Reír con risa de conejo To laugh with the laughter of a rabbit To force a laugh Empezar la casa por el tejado To start building the house at the roof To put the cart before the horse Ir al grano To go to the seed Get to the point Faltarle a uno un tornillo to have a screw missing To be nuts Cortar el bacalao To cut the codfish To rule the roost No hay mal que por bien no venga There is not badly that by well come not Every cloud has a silver lining