Fraces Idiomaticas

8/18/2019 Fraces Idiomaticas

1/31

Expresiones idiomáticas

con sus sinónimos

Traducción Ejemplo

after a ll — despite,

nevertheless

después d e todo, al n

y a l cabo

I knew it! After all, I was

right!

all along — all the time todo el tiempo I knew about his little secret

all along.

all ears — eager to listen todo oídos I am all ears.

all of a sudden —

suddenly

de repente, de pronto All of a sudden, he refused

to pay.

all the s ame —

no difference

da igual, lo mismo;

de todos modos

If it’s all the same to you,

let’s start at two.

all thumbs — clumsy torpe He can’t x anything, he’s all

thumbs.

apple o f discord —

subject of envy or quarrel

manzana de la d iscordia This qu estion is an apple

of discord in our family.

as a rule — usually como regla general As a rule, we offer a 5%

discount.

as far as I amconcerned —

in my opinion

en lo que a mí respecta As far as I am concerned,both the book a nd the movie

are good.

as for me/as t o me —

in my opinion

en cuanto a mí As for me, you can rely

on his su pport.

as w ell — also, too también He knows math, and

physics a s w ell.

at all — (not) in thesmallest degree

en lo más m ínimo,en absoluto

He doesn’t know Frenchat all. I don’t like it at all.

at random — without order al azar He chose those places

at random.

at this point — at this t ime a estas alturas At this point, we can’t turn

back.


2/31

be ab out to — ready

(to do)

estar a punto de I was about to leave when

you called.

be after someone —

insist, press

estar tras alguien; insistir,

presionar

His m other is a lways a fter

him to study.be all in — be extremely

tired

estar hecho polvo I’m all in, I’d better go to bed

now.

be back o n one’s feet —

healthy a gain or better

nancially

recuperarse después

de un tiempo difícil;

ponerse de pie o tra vez

He’s b ack on his f eet after

a long period of debt and

unemployment.

beat around the bush —

avoid giving a clear/denite

answer

irse por las ramas Stop beating around the

bush! Get to the point!

be beside oneself —

be very upset, nervous,

worried, etc.

estar fuera de sí She was beside herself with

worry / with grief.

be better off —

be in a better situation

estar en una m ejor

situación

He’ll be better off with a new

job.

be broke — have

no money at all

estar en bancarrota I spent all my money, I’m

broke.be hard on something

/someone — treat roughlyser duro co n a lgo/alguien My son is ha rd on shoes,

they d on’t last long with him.

Life was p retty hard on Tom.

be h igh on one’s l ist —

be one o f the most

important things

encabezar la lista de los

asuntos i mportantes

A new car is h igh on my list

of priorities. A new TV is n ot

high on my list.

be in charge o f —

be r esponsible for

estar a cargo de, ser

responsable d e

He is in charge

of marketing.

be in the red — be in debt estar en deuda, estar

quebrado

Our sales w ere in the red

last year.

be into

smth. — be interested in

estar

interesado/apasionado por

He is into computers. She

is into sports.


3/31

algo

bend over backwards —

try hard

hacer todo lo que

se pueda

I bent over backwards

to help her.

be on one’s way estar en el camino I’m on my way.be o n the sa fe s ide — not

to take any ch ances

para mayor seguridad Take an extra key, just

to be on the safe side.

be out of — be without estar fuera de, estar

desabastecido, no tener

We are out of bread,

cheese, and sugar.

be out of shape —

be physically unt

no estar en forma / estar

en mala condición física

He needs to exercise,

he is o ut of shape.

be o ut of sorts — in bad

humor

estar de mal humor Leave him alone, he’s out

of sorts today

be p ressed for time /

money — be short of; not

have enough

estar presionado por

tiempo/dinero (no tener

suciente tiempo/dinero

por el momento)

I’m pressed for time now.

We a re pressed f or money

at the moment.

beside the p oint — off the

point

ajeno a la cuestión,

no va al caso

What I said to him privately

is beside the point.

be to blame —

be responsible for

a mistake / something

wrong

ser culpable Who is to blame for this

awful mistake? Tom

is t o blame for this m ix-up.

be touch and go —

be uncertain of the result

pender de un hilo He was very sick, and for

some time it was t ouch

and go, but he is b etter now.

be up against —be opposed b y, have

problems, be in danger

enfrentar ( a algo/alguien),encontrarse ante

problemas

Our company is up againstserious attempts of hostile

takeover.

be up and

around/about — able

to be out of bed after

volver a andar,

recuperarse (después

de una enfermedad)

He was si ck for a month, but

now he is up an d around.


4/31

an illness

be u p to one’s e ars —

very busy

estar muy ocupado I’m up to my ears in work.

be up to something —do mischief

estar tramando algo I have to check what thekids a re up to.

be up t o someone —

be one’s ow n decision

or responsibility

ser decisión de alguien,

corresponderle a alguien

It’s up to you to decide. It’s

up to you to close t he office

every d ay at 8 o’clock.

be used to —

be accustomed to

estar acostumbrado a I’m used to hard work. He’s

used to heat.

big shot — important

person

persona importante He is a b ig shot around

here.

bite off more than one

can chew — try to do more

than one can

sobrevalorar tus fuerzas

(«morder más de lo que

puedes m asticar»)

I couldn’t handle two jobs

and family. I really bit off

more than I could ch ew.

bite o ne’s t ongue — stop

talking

morderse la lengua, dejar

de hablar

I almost told her, but bit

my tongue.

bite the dust — die,

be defeated

morder el polvo, morir Many of them bit the dust

in that war.

black sh eep — a good-for-

nothing member of the

family

oveja negra Their second son is the

black sheep of the family,

he is g ood for nothing.

blind date — a meeting

of a man and woman

arranged by friends

cita a ciegas She refuses to go on a blind

date a gain because she had

bad experience.

blow it — lose the cha nce perder la oportunidad He understood thathe blew it.

blow over — pass, end pasar Wait here till his anger

blows o ver.

bottom line — main

result/factor

resultado The bottom line is, I don’t

have enough m oney.


5/31

break into — enter

by force

entrar por la fuerza,

penetrar

The police broke into the

robber’s h ouse.

break one’s h eart — hurt

deeply

romper el corazón

de alguien

The news of her death

broke his h eart.break t he i ce — overcome

shyness i n making the rst

step

romper el hielo (superar

la timidez y d ar el primer

paso)

The party was d ull until

someone b roke the ice w ith

a joke a nd we all laughed.

break the news — tell new

facts

difundir la información CNN is breaking the news

right now.

bring home the bacon —

earn the living for the family

proveer a la familia He works very hard

at several places t o bring

home the bacon.

brush off — give

no attention to

no hacer caso The boss brushed off

my project again.

brush up on — review repasar, refrescar

la memoria

You need to brush up on the

tenses.

by all means -denitely,

certainly

denitivamente, por

supuesto

Do you need m y help?

— By all means.

by heart — by memorizing de memoria Learn this poem by heart fortomorrow.

by hook or by crook —

by any means po ssible

como sea She will get what she wants

by hook or by crook.

by the way — incidentally por cierto By the way, Ann is coming

back today.

call a sp ade a s pade —

use plain, direct words

llamar a las co sas p or

su nombre

He always tells t he truth and

calls a spade a spade.call it a day — consider

work nished for the day

considerar el trabajo

terminado

We’ve b een working for

10 straight hours. Let’s call

it a day.

call off — cancel cancelar The police called off the

search.


6/31

carry out — fulll realizar, cumplir She never carries out her

plans.

carry weight —

be important

tener peso en, inuir, ser

importante

His a dvice always ca rries

weight here.cast down — depressed,

sad

desanimar He was cast down by the

bad news.

castles in the air —

daydreaming about

success

(construir) c astillos

en el aire

Instead of working hard,

he spends t ime building

castles in the air.

catch one’s ey e — attract

attention

llamar la atención This picture caught my eye.

catch one’s b reath — stop

and rest

recobrar el aliento I can’t run, I need to catch

my breath.

catch someone off

guard — catch someone

unprepared

tomar por sorpresa He caught me off guard with

his question.

catch someone red-

handed — nd smb. in the

act of doing wrong

sorprender a alguien con

las manos en l a masa

The manager caught the

boy red-handed when

he was stealing cigarettes.catch up — become not

behind

ponerse al día He needs to catch up with

the others.

close call — a narrow

escape, a bad thing that

almost happened

por poco suce de algo

malo (escaparse por

milagro)

The speeding car almost hit

the man. That was r eally

a close call.

come across — meet

by chance

encontrar I came across that article

yesterday.

come down with —

become ill

caer resfriado I’m coming down with

a cold.

come to one’s senses —

start acting reasonably,

intelligently

entrar en razón He nally came to his

senses, started to work

hard, and passed his


7/31

exams.

come true — become

reality

volverse realidad My dream came true when I

met Pat.

come up w ith — suggest proponer Mike came up with a brilliantidea.

count on — depend on contar con You can always count

on me for help.

cut corners — to take

a short-cut; to limit one’s

spending

buscar atajos, omitir

procedimientos

He ran fast, cutting corners

where he could. I have

to cut corners t his w eek.

cut down on — reduce reducir el consumo You have to cut down

on ch ocolate.

cut out to be /cut out for

it — have the ability

to do so mething

estar hecho para (algún

trabajo)

She isn’t cut out

to be a surgeon. He’s cu t

out to be a leader.

do one’s b est — try ver y

hard

dar lo mejor de sí I did my best to help him

in his w ork.

do one’s b it — do what’s

needed

aportar su granito

de arena; hacerlo necesario

I’ll do my bit, you can count

on me.

do over — do again rehacer This work is not good,

do it over.

do someone good —

be good for

beneciar Fresh air and exercise will

do you good.

do something behind

one’s back — do (harmful)things secretively

hacer algo a espaldas

de uno

I hate people who do things

behind my back. He d idit behind my back again.

do without — live without vivir sin, prescindir I’ll have to do without a car

for a while.

down to earth — practical práctico, realista He’s quiet, sensible and

down to e arth.


8/31

draw the l ine — x a l imit trazar la línea, limitar He drew the line for her

at $100 a day.

dress u p — put on the best

clothes

ponerse la mejor ropa What are you dressed

up for?drop off — deliver

somewhere

llevar (a una persona

a un lugar), dejar (a una

persona en un lugar)

Can you d rop me off at the

bank?

drop out — quit (school) abandonar He dropped out of school

last year.

duty calls — must fulll

obligations

el deber llama He said, «Duty calls» and

left for work.

easier said than done es m ás fácil decir que

hacerlo

It’s e asier said than done,

but I’ll try to do it.

eat one’s w ords — take

back words

tragarse las palabras He had to eat his words

after her report.

even so — nevertheless,

but

aún así I work hard. Even so, I like

my job.

every now and then

-occasionally

de vez en cuando Every now and then I visit

my old aunt.

every o ther day — every

second one

cada dos d ías; un día

sí y un día no

She washes h er hair every

other day.

fall behind — lag behind quedarse atrás The little boy fell behind the

older boys.

fall in love — begin to love enamorarse Tom fell in love with Sue

at rst sight.

fall out of love — stoploving

dejar de amar They fell out of love anddivorced soon.

false alarm — untrue

rumor

falsa alarma I heard he quit but it was

a false alarm.

a far cry f rom muy lejos de ser algo, His second book wasn’t


9/31

something — very

different, almost opposite

(neg.)

muy diferente a lo que

creías

bad, but it was a far cry f rom

his rst book.

feel it in one’s bones —expect something bad

to happen

tener una co razonada(presentimiento)

Something bad is g oingto happen, I feel

it in my b ones.

feel like doing

something — want to do,

be inclined to do smth.

antojarse de hacer algo,

sentir ganas d e hacer algo

I feel like going for a walk.

I don’t feel like working now,

I’m tired.

feel up to — be able to do tener ánimo para h acer

algo

I don’t feel up to cleaning

the house.

few and far between —

rare, scarce

muy pocos, escasos Her visits are few and far

between.

nd fault with — criticize encontrar fallos, criticar He always n ds f aults w ith

everybody.

nd out — learn

or discover

averiguar, descubrir I found out that Maria left

town.

rsthand — directly from

the source

de primera mano You can trust it, it’s rsthand

information.rst things rst —

important things co me

before others

primero lo primero First things rst: how much

money do we have to pay

right away?

y off the ha ndle — get

angry

perder los estribos He ew off the handle and

yelled at me.

follow in someone’s

footsteps — do the same

thing

seguir los p asos d e otro Igor followed in his f ather’s

footsteps, he became

a doctor, too.

foot in the door —

a special opportunity for

a job

tener un pie adentro (tener

una oportunidad

de trabajo)

Nina got a foot in the door

because h er friend works

in that company.

foot the bill — pay the bill pagar Her father footed the bill for


10/31

the party.

for good — forever para siempre After her death, he left town

for good.

for the time being —at this time

por el momento, por ahoraFor the time being, thishouse is all right for us.

frame of mind — mental

state

estado de ánimo I can’t do it in this frame

of mind.

from A to Z — completely conocer algo de pe a p a;

de cabo a rabo

He knows this town from A

to Z.

from now on — now and

in the future

desde ahora, a partir

de ahora

From now on, I forbid you

to go there.

get a g rip on oneself —

take control of one’s

feelings

obtener control sobre

sí mismo

Stop crying! Get a grip

on yourself!

get along with — have

good relations

llevarse bien con Ann gets along with most

coworkers, but doesn’t get

along with Laura.

get away with — not

be caught after doingwrong

evitar el castigo, escapar

de la justicia

The police didn’t nd the

thief. He got away w ith hiscrime.

get carried away — get

too excited and enthusiastic

about something

entusiasmarse He got carried away with

opening a store and lost

most of his money.

get cold feet — be afraid

to do

entrarle miedo a alguien I wanted to try it but got cold

feet.

get even with — haveone’s r evenge

desquitarse I’ll get even with him foreverything!

get in touch with —

contact

contactar a alguien Get in touch with Mr. Smith

for help.

get lost — lose one’s way perderse She got lost in the old part

of town.


11/31

Get lost! — Lay off! ¡Vete! ¡Desaparécete!

¡Lárgate!

I don’t want to see you

again. Get lost!

get mixed up — get

confused

confundir I got mixed up, went the

wrong way a nd got lost.get off one’s b ack — leave

alone

dejar a alguien en p az Stop bothering me! Get off

my back!

get on one’s h igh

horse — behave haughtily

towards someone

actuar como si fueras

mejor que o tras p ersonas,

ser engreído

Every time I ask h er to help

me with typing, she gets

on her high horse.

get on (the bus, train,

plane)

subir (el transporte) I got on the bus on O ak

Street.

get off (the bus, train,

plane)

bajar (el transporte) I got off the bus at the bank.

get out of hand — get out

of control

salirse de las m anos,

fuera de control

If he gets o ut of hand again,

call me right away.

get over — recover after

an illness or bad

experience

recuperarse después

de una enfermedad

o mala experiencia,

superar

I can’t get over how rude

he was to me. She got over

her i llness quite quickly.

get rid of — dispose o f,

discard

deshacerse He got rid of his old useless

car.

get together — meet with reunirse My friends and I get

together often.

get to the bottom — know

deeply

llegar al fondo de algo He usually gets to the

bottom of things.

get to the p oint — getto the matter

ir al grano Get to the point!

Give me a br eak! — spare

me

¡Dame un respiro!

¡Déjame!

Come on, stop it! Give

me a br eak!

give someone a hand —

help

dar la mano, ayudar Can you give me a hand

with cooking?


12/31

give someone

a lift /a ride — take

to so me p lace by car

llevar a a lguien en auto Can you give m e a lift to the

bank? He g ave he r a ride

in his ne w Porsche.

give someone a pi eceof one’s m ind — criticize

frankly

criticar, decir a biertamentelo que p iensas

She lost my umbrella again,so I gave her a piece

of my mind about her

carelessness.

give up — stop doing

something, stop trying

to do so mething

rendirse I gave up smoking. I gave

up trying to x my o ld car.

go back on one’s word —

break a promise

romper

la palabra/promesa

First he said he would

help me, but then he wentback on h is word.

go for it — try to do a new

thing

intentar algo nuevo If I were you, I would

go for i t.

go from bad to worse —

be worse

ir de mal en peor His business went from bad

to worse.

go out — go to parties,

movies

salir (de esta, al cine,

etc.)

Do he and h is wife g o out

often?go out of one’s w ay -try

very h ard

poner mucho e sfuerzo,

intentar mucho

He goes ou t of his way

to please her.

go to one’s h ead — make

too proud

subirse a la cabeza

(éxito), sentirse

demasiado orgulloso

His ac ting su ccess w ent

to his h ead.

go to pieces — get very

upset, fall apart

derrumbarse, quedar

deshecho

She went to pieces w hen

she heard it.

go with the ow — lead

quiet l ife

ir con la corriente She always goes with the

ow.

grow on someone —

become liked

gustar poco a poco When she knew him more,

he grew on her.

had better — should más vale que You look ill, you’d better see


13/31

a doctor.

have a ball — have a good

time

pasarla bien Yesterday we had a ball

at the party.

have a b one to pick —complain or discuss

something unpleasant

tener una cuenta queajustar

Mr. Brown, I have a boneto pick with you. My m ail

was l ost because of you.

have a w ord with

someone — talk to

hablar con alguien Can I have a word with you?

have words with

someone — argue with

someone about something

hablar muy seriamente

con alguien /discutir

I had words with

my coworker today beca use

he used my computer again.

have it in him — have the

ability

tener habilidades Laura has it in her

to be a good doctor.

have no business d oing

something — have no r ight

to do

no e s t u asunto, no tienes

derecho de (estar aquí,

hacer esto, etc.)

You have no business

staying here without

my permission.

have o ne’s b ack to the

wall — be hard-pressed,

on the defensive

estar entre la espada

y la pared

I had no choice, I had

my back to the wall.

have o ne’s h ands full —

very busy

estar muy ocupado He has his hands full with

hard work.

have one’s h eart set

on something — want

something very much

querer algo demasiado,

ansiar algo

She has he r heart set

on going to New York.

He has h is h eart set

on Betty.

have p ull — have inuence

on

inuir, pesar Does he have pull with the

director?

(not) have the heart —

(not) have the courage

to do sm th. unpleasant

(no) atreverse a hacer

algo desagradable;

(no) tener corazón para

I don’t have the heart to tell

him that he wasn’t accepted,

he’ll be s o unhappy.

high and low — en todas partes I searched high and low for


14/31

everywhere (en el cielo y en la tierra,

cuando se reere

a búsquedas)

my lost cat.

hit the nail on the head —say e xactly t he right thing

acertar You hit the nail on the headwhen you sai d our company

needs a n ew director.

hit upon something —

to discover

pensar en algo; descubrirThey hit upon gold. I hit

upon a p lan.

hold it against

someone — blame

somebody for doing

something

guardar rencores

en contra de alguien;

culpar a alguien por algo

I lost his b ook, but

he doesn’t hold

it against me.

Hold it! — Stop! Wait! ¡Detente! ¡Espera! Hold it! I forgot my key.

Hold on! — Wait! ¡Espera! Hold on! I’ll be back

in a m inute.

hold one’s ow n —

maintain oneself

in a situation, behave

as needed

mantenerse rme He can hold his own in any

situation. We need men who

can hold their own.

hold up — rob using

a weapon

asaltar, atacar This bank was held up twice

last year.

ill at ease —

uncomfortable

disgustado, incómodo She felt ill at ease because

of her cheap dress.

in advance — well before de antemano He told her about his plan

in advance.

in a n utshell — in a f ew

words

en breve, en pocas

palabras

In a nutshell, my p lan

is t o buy land.

in care o f someone —

write to one person at the

address o f another

(escribir) a alguien

a la dirección de otra

persona (al cuidado de)

I’m staying at Tom’s h ouse.

Write to me in care of Tom

Gray, Chicago, Illinois.


15/31

in cold blood —

mercilessly

a sangre fría He killed her in cold blood.

in fact — actually, in reality de hecho, en realidad In fact, he works

as a m anager here.in general — generally,

generally sp eaking

en general In general, he likes

to be a lone. He described

the place only in general.

in one’s el ement — what

one likes

estar como pez en el aguaHe’s in his el ement when

he’s a rguing.

in other words — using

other words

en otras palabras In other words, you refused

to do it for her.

in plain English —

in simple, frank t erms

sencillamente hablando I didn’t really like the

concert. In plain English, the

concert was terrible.

the ins a nd outs — all info

about

los pormenores He knows the ins and outs

of this b usiness.

in someone’s sho es —

in another person’s position

en los za patos d e alguién,

en lugar de otra persona

I’d hate to be in his s hoes

now. He lost his j ob, and his

wife is in the hospital.in the long run — in the

end

al nal de cuentas In the long run, it’ll be better

to buy it.

in the sam e boat — in the

same s ituation

en el mismo barco;

en la misma situacion

Stop arguing with me, we’re

in the same boat and should

help each other.

in the clear — free from

blame

estar fuera d e s ospecha Pay the b ill and you’ll

be in the clear.

in time

(to do something) —

before something begins

a tiempo (para hacer algo)I came in time to have a cup

of coffee b efore class.

it goes without saying —

should be clear without

no hace falta d ecir nada It goes without saying that

he must pay what he owes


16/31

words right away.

It’s on the tip

of my tongue.

está en la punta

de mi lengua

His n ame is o n the tip

of my tongue.

it’s time — shoulddo it right away

es hora Hurry up, it’s time to go.

It’s worth it. / It’s not

worth it. I t’s (not) w orth

buying, visiting, watching,

etc.

lo vale / no lo vale

vale la pena / no vale

la p ena

Watch this lm, it’s worth it.

Don’t buy this coat, it is not

worth it. This m useum

is w orth visiting. This lm

is n ot worth watching.

it will do — it’s en ough es suciente Stop reading, it will do for

now.

jump at the

opportunity/chance —

accept the opportunity

eagerly

aprovechar la oportunidadHis b oss mentioned a job

in Europe, and Peter

jumped at the opportunity.

just as soon — prefer this

one

preferiría I’d just as soon stay home,

I’m tired.

just in case — to be o n thesafe side

por si acaso Take an extra shirt, justin case.

Just my luck! — Bad /

Hard luck!

¡Vaya suerte que tengo!

¡Qué mala su erte!

They lost my job application.

Just my luck!

keep an eye on — take

care of, watch, look after

estar pendiente; vigilar Betty keep s an eye

on my s ons for me. I’ll keep

an eye on you!

keep a straight face — not

to laugh

mantener la cara se ria I tried to ke ep a straight

face, but failed.

keep company —

accompany

hacer compañía She keeps me company

quite often.

keep one’s w ord — fulll

a p romise

mantener la palabra You promised, now keep

your word.


17/31

keep someone posted —

inform

mantener a a lguien

al tanto / informado

Keep me posted about your

plans.

keep your ngers

crossed — hope thatnothing will go wrong

cruzar los dedos I have a j ob interview today.

Keep your ngers crossedfor me, will you?

kill time — ll/spend empty

time

matar el tiempo I went to the show to kill

time.

(not) know the rst thing

about — not to have any

knowledge about

no saber nada acerca de I don’t know the rst thing

about nuclear physics.

know the ropes — be very

familiar with some business

estar al tanto He knows all the ropes

in this co mpany.

last-minute notice — little

or no time to prepare for

something

noticia de útimo minuto His a rrival was a last-minute

notice, we didn’t have time

to prepare for it.

lay o ne’s c ards o n the

table — be frank and openponer las ca rtas so bre

la mesa; ser sincero

y abierto

Finally, we asked him to lay

his ca rds o n the table and

tell us a bout his p lans.

lay one’s life on theline — put oneself

in a dangerous s ituation

poner la vida en juego,arriesgar la vida

He laid his life on the lineto fulll this task, but nobody

appreciated his e fforts.

lead a dog’s life — live

in misery

llevar una vida d e perros He leads a dog’s life.

lead someone on — make

someone believe

something that isn’t true

engañar, hacer a alguien

creer que es c ierto

They su spect that you are

leading them on. You led

me on!

leave it at that — accept

reluctantly

dejar las co sas co mo s onLeave it at that, what else

can you do?

leave word — leave

a message

dejar un mensaje He left word for you to meet

him at the airport at 6.

let bygones lo pasado , pasado e stá Why don’t you let bygones


18/31

be bygones — forget and

forgive bad things in the

past

be bygones an d forget

about what he said?

let go of — release t hehold

soltar, dejar ir Let go of my hand or I’ll callthe guard.

let ( it) go — forget bad

experience, return

to normal life

dejarlo ir, superar malas

experiencias

He’s still in despair and can’t

let (it) go. You can’t change

anything, so let it go.

let one’s hair down —

be relaxed and informal

with other people

soltarse la melena,

echarse una cana al aire,

relajarse

She is a lways so formal.

She never lets h er hair

down.

let someone down —

disappoint, fail someone

quedar mal con a lguien,

decepcionar a alguien

Don’t let me down this t ime!

let someone know —

inform

noticar, informar Let me know when you nd

a job.

like father, like son —

be like one’s p arent

in something

de tal palo, tal astilla Paul won a p rize in a ch ess

tournament. Great! Like

father, like son!

littl e by littl e — stepby s tep

poco a poco Little by little, he got usedto Tokyo.

look for — search for buscar What are you looking for?

look forward to — expect

with pleasure

esperar con impaciencia I’m looking forward to your

letter. Mary is looking

forward to the party.

look out — be careful,

watch out

tener cuidado Look out! The bus

is co ming!

look up — check with

/in a dictionary

or a reference book

buscar (información

en un diccionario, Internet,

etc.)

If you don’t know this w ord,

look it up in the dictionary.

lose o ne’s t emper —

become angry

perder la paciencia,

enojarse

He loses h is t emper very

often.


19/31

lose o ne’s way — get lost perder el camino,

perderse

I lost my way. Can you

help me?

lose t rack o f — not

to know where someoneor something is

perder el hilo/la p ista I lost track of him years ag o.

lucky b reak — a lucky

chance

golpe de suerte He got his lucky break when

he got this job.

make a living — earn

money to provide for life

ganarse la vida He works hard. His family

is b ig, and he has to make

a living somehow.

make allowance for —

take into consideration

when judging

tener en cuenta Don’t criticize him so hard,

make (an) allowance for his

inexperience.

make a po int of — be sure

to do so mething

intentionally

poner empeño en (hacer

algo); hacer algo

intencionalmente; tender

a/intentar

Make a point of asking

about his w ife. Make

it a point to be here by 1 0.

make ends meet —

to have a nd spend onlywhat one ea rns

llegar a n de mes;

sobrevivir con pocosingresos

His d oesn’t get much

money. I wonder howhe manages to make ends

meet.

make friends — become

friends

hacer amigos Anton makes new friends

easily.

make fun of — laugh at,

joke about

burlarse de He made fun of her German

accent.

make no bon es about

it — say/do openly, without

hesitation

no darle más vu eltas,

no andar por las r amas

I’ll make no bones a bout it:

I don’t like your attitude

to work.

make room for — allow

space for

liberar espacio para We can make room for one

more dog.

make sense — be logical tener sentido What you say makes sense.


20/31

make the most of smth —

do the best in the given

situation

sacar lo mejor de Let’s make the most of our

vacation.

make up — becomefriends a gain

reconciliarse I’m tired of ghting. Let’smake up.

make up f or smth —

compensate

recompensar I’ll make up for the time you

spent on it.

make up one’s mind —

decide

tomar una decisión When will you go? Make

up your mind.

make yourself at home —

be comfortable, feel

at home

siéntete como en t u casa Come in please. Make

yourself at home.

man of his word — one

who keeps promises,

is de pendable

el hombre de palabra You can depend on his

promise to help. He’s a man

of his w ord.

mean well — have good

intentions

tener buenas intenciones He meant well, but it turned

out that he spoiled a couple

of things f or me.

might as w ell — a goodidea

podrías ap rovechary ha cerlo (es b uena idea

hacer algo)

I might as w ell telephonehim now.

missing person —

someone who is lost and

can’t be located

persona desaparecida The little boy disappeared.

The police registered him

as a missing person.

meet someone halfway —

compromise w ith others

encontrar un término

medio

He’s r easonable and tries

to meet his co workers

halfway, when possible.

never mind — it doesn’t

matter

olvídalo, no importa Thank you. — Never mind.

not to mention —

in addition to

sin mencionar We have three dogs, not

to mention two cats.


21/31

no wonder — not

surprising

no es una sorpresa He ate three big sh.

No wonder he’s si ck.

now and again —

occasionally

de vez en cuando I meet them now and again

at the bank.

odds and ends — a variety

of small unimportant things

or l eftovers

restos, pedacitos I needed to buy some odds

and ends for the kitchen.

off the cuff — without

preparation

de improviso, sin

preparación previa

Off the cuff, I can give yo u

only a rough estimate.

off the p oint — beside the

point

no va al caso, fuera

de la cuestión

What I think a bout him is o ff

the point.

off the record — not for

the public, unofficially

extraocialmente Strictly off the record, I think

the director is going to get

married soon.

once and for all —

decidedly

de una vez por todas You must quit smoking once

and for al l.

on credit — not pay cash

right away

a crédito He bought a car on credit.

on edge — nervous,

irri table

nervioso, irritado He’s been on edge ever

since she left.

on guard — on the alert en guardia, alerta He’s cautious and always

on guard.

on hand — available a la mano Do you have a calculator

on hand?

on one’s own — alone,by oneself

por su cuenta,independientemente

She likes t o live and workon her own.

on one’s t oes — alert,

attentive, prepared for

difficulties

alerta He was on his toes and

produced a very good

impression on them.


22/31

on purpose — intentionally a propósito,

intencionalmente

I didn’t do it on purpose,

it just happened so.

on second thought —

after thinking again

pensándolo bien I’d like to sit on the aisle.

On second thought, I’d likea window seat.

on the a lert — on guard alerta, en guardia He’s cautious and always

on the alert.

on the ca rpet — called

in by the boss for criticism

llamar al despacho del

director, llamar

la atención, criticar

Yesterday the boss c alled

her on the carpet for being

rude to the coworkers.

on the go — busy, on the

move

en marcha, en movimientoHe is al ways on the go.

on the off chance —

unlikely to happen, but still

es poco probable pero On the off c hance that you

don’t nd him at work,

here’s his ho me a ddress.

on the o ther hand —

considering the other side

of the question

por otro lado I’d like to have a dog.

On the other hand, my wife

likes cats better.

on the sp ot — right there en el mismo sitio I decided to do it on thespot.

on the s pur of the

moment — without

previous t hought / plan

en la e uforia d el momentoHe bought this car on the

spur of the moment, now

he regrets it.

on time — punctual a tiempo Jim is always on time.

out of one’s m ind — crazy loco, fuera de s í If you think so, you’re out

of your mind.

out of one’s w ay — away

from someone’s u sual route

desviado del camino,

fuera del camino

I can’t give you a lift to the

bank, it’s o ut of my way

today.

out of the question —

impossible

fuera de l a cuestión Paying him is out of the

question!


23/31

pack rat — a person who

saves lots o f unnecessary

things

acumulador obsesivo Why does she keep all

those things sh e never

uses? — She is a pack r at.

pay attention —be attentive

prestar atención Pay attention to his words.

pick a ght — start

a q uarrel

empezar una

pelea/discusión

He often tries t o pick a ght

with me.

pick up — take, get elegir, recoger I’ll pick you up at 7.

play one’s cards right —

choose the right steps

in doing something

jugar bien sus cartas If you play your cards right,

he’ll agree to your plan.

potluck s upper —

a surprise meal, where

nobody knows what dishes

other guests w ill bring

una cena en grupo donde

cada quien trae lo que

quiere

You know what happened

at our last potluck supper?

Everybody brought

macaroni and cheese,

apples, and beer!

pull oneself together —

brace oneself, summon

your strength

sobreponerse Stop crying and

complaining! You have

to pull yourself togethernow.

pull the w ool over

someone’s eyes —

deceive, mislead so meone

engañar Are you trying to pull the

wool over my e yes? It won’t

do you any good.

put a damper on —

discourage

poner un freno a She always puts a damper

on my plans.

put in a w ord for

someone — say p ositive

things abo ut someone

defender a a lguien co n

palabras, decir algo bueno

acerca de alguien

I’d be very grateful if you

could put in a word for

me when you s peak to him.

put off — postpone posponer Don’t put it off till tomorrow.

put one’s foot down —

object strongly

oponerse fuertemente Her father put his foot down

when she sai d she w anted


24/31

to marry Alan.

put one’s foot in it —

do the wrong thing, make

a fool of oneself

meter la pata; decir /hacer

algo estúpido

He put his f oot in it when

he told the boss h is

daughter wasn’t pretty.put up with — accept,

tolerate

aguantar, tolerar I can’t put up with your bad

work!

quite a bit of — much,

a lot of

mucho I had quite a bit of trouble

with that car.

quite a few — many, a lot

of

muchos He wrote quite a few good

stories.

rack o ne’s b rain — try

hard to think

esforzar el cerebro He racked his brain to solve

the puzzle.

read between the l ines —

nd or understand the

implied meaning

leer entre líneas His books are not easy

to understand; you have

to read between the lines.

remember me to — say

hello to

enviar saludos Please remember

me to your family.

right away — immediately de inmediato It’ very important

to do it right away.

ring a bell — remind

someone of something

familiar /half-forgotten

se parece a algo, luce

familiar

Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings

a bell, but I can’t place

it right now.

rock the b oat — make the

situation unstable

causar problemas,

desestabilizar una

situación

Peter always rocks the boat

when we discuss company’s

spending policy.

rub shoulders w ith —meet with

codearse He doesn’t rub shoulderswith the rich.

rub someone the wrong

way — irritate, annoy, make

angry

irritar, molestar a alguien His r emarks r ub many

coworkers the wrong way.

run into — meet by chance encontrarse a alguien p or I ran into an old friend


25/31

casualidad yesterday.

save face — try to change

the negative impression

produced

rescatar la reputación He sai d a stupid thing and

tried to save face by s aying

he misunderstood me.save one’s breath — stop

useless t alk

ahorrarse l as p alabras There’s no use talking

to him about his sp ending

habits, so save your breath.

scratch the surface —

study som ething

supercially

no profundizar en el tema,

estudiar de manera

supercial

He examines a ll the facts

closely, he doesn’t just

scratch the surface.

see about — make

arrangements for

ocuparse de I have to see about our

plane tickets.

see eye t o eye — agree compartir un mismo punto

de vista con alguien

We don’t see eye to eye an y

longer.

serve som eone right —

get what someone

deserves

recibir lo que uno

se merece

It serves him right that

he didn’t get this job,

he despised all other

candidates.

serve one’s p urpose —be useful to someone for

his p urpose

servir al propósitode alguien, ser útil para

el propósito de alguien

I doubt that hiring this m anwill serve your purpose.

show promise —

be p romising

mostrar esperanza This young actor shows

promise.

show up — appear aparecer I waited for hours but

he didn’t show up.

size u p — evaluate

someone

evaluar It took me 5 minutes to size

up that man.

sleep on it — postpone

a decision till next morning

posponer algo hasta

la m añana s iguiente

Don’t decide now, sleep

on it.

a s lip of the t ongue —

a mistake

error, equivocación,

lapsus

It was just a slip of the

tongue!


26/31

slip (from) one’s mind —

forget

olvidar It slipped my mind what she

asked me.

smell a rat — suspect

something

sospechar algo I’m not sure what it is, but I

smell a rat.so far — up to now hasta ahora So far, I have read 3 books

by King.

so much the better — it’s

even better

aún mejor If he can pay cash, so much

the better.

spill the beans — tell

a secret

soltar la sopa, decir

un secreto

Who spilled the beans ab out

our plan?

stand a chan ce — have

a chance

tener una oportunidad He doesn’t stand a chance

of getting it.

stand out — be noticeable destacarse He stands out in any group

of people.

stand to reason —

be logical

ser lógico It stands to reason that

he apologized.

straight from the

shoulder — speak franklysin rodeos, abiertamente Don’t try to spare

my feelings, give

it to me straight from theshoulder.

take a dim view

of something —

disapprove of something

tener una opinión negativa

acerca de algo

My si ster takes a dim view

of the way I raise

my ch ildren.

take a b reak — stop for

rest

tomar una pausa Let’s take a break, I’m tired.

take a dvantage o f — usefor one’s o wn benet,

to prot from

aprovecharse de We took advantage of thelow prices and bought

a co mputer and a monitor.

take after — be like one

of the parents

parecerse a l os pa dres Tom takes after his father

in character, and after his

mother in appearance.


27/31

take a s tand

on something — make

a rm opinion/decision

on smth.

tomar una posición rme

respecto a algo

People n eed to take a stand

on the issue of nuclear

weapons.

take care o f — look a fter,

protect, see that smth.

is d one properly

cuidar de Can you take care

of my dog while I’m away?

Tom takes g ood ca re o f his

car.

take hold of something —

take, hold

tomar, sujetar Take hold of this rope and

pull.

take into account —

consider smth.

tomar en cuenta You must take into account

her old age.

take it easy — relax,

be calm

no te preocupes Take it easy, everything will

be OK.

take (it) for g ranted —

accept as g iven

dar por sentado Mother’s love is always

taken for granted

by c hildren.

take one’s b reath away dejarlo a uno sin aliento That great view took

my breath away.take o ne’s time —

do slowly

tomarte tu tiempo, hacer

algo despacio, sin prisa

Don’t hurry. Take your time.

take one’s word for it —

believe

creer en la palabra

de alguien, creerle

a alguien

Take my word for it, he won’t

go there.

take pains — try hard

to do it well

esmerarse He took pains to make his

report perfect.

take part

in sm th. — participate intomar parte, participar Mary is g oing to take part

in the show.

take p lace — happen tomar lugar, suceder The accident took place

on Oak S treet.

take someone’s mind off distraer a a lguien de su s Go to a co ncert or a movie


28/31

things — distract from

xed ideas/thoughts

pensamientos to take your mind off things.

take steps — take

action /measures

tomar medidas, actuar We need t o take steps

against it.take t he w ords r ight out

of one’s m outh — say the

same before somebody

else says it

quitar las palabras

de la boca (decir algo que

quería decir otra persona)

I was a bout to say the

same! You took the words

right out of my mouth.

take t ime — take a l ong

time

tomar tiempo It takes time to get used

to a new place.

take time o ff — be absent

from work

tomar un día libre He took time off to attend

the wedding.

take turns — alternate

doing something one after

another

cambiar turnos, hacer

algo por turnos

We went to Minsk by car.

We didn’t get tired because

we took turns d riving

talk back — answer rudely replicar, responder

insolentemente

Don’t talk b ack to the

teacher!

talk it over — discuss discutir I’ll talk it over with my family.

tell apart — see thedifference

distinguir Can you tell the twins apart?

That’s just the

point. — That’s i t.Este es el punto. That’s just the point! I hate

this j ob!

the writing on the wall —

a sign of future events

(usually, trouble)

premonición (de algo

malo)

The plane cr ashed. Tim said

he saw the writing on the

wall about this ight.

not think much of — thinklow

tener un concepto bajode alguien

I don’t think m uch of hercooking.

think o ver — consider

carefully

pensar en detalle,

considerar

Think over your answer.

Think it over carefully.

till one is blue in the

face — try hard

esforzarse demasiado I repeated it till I was blue

in the face!


29/31

to make a long story

short — in shorten pocas palabras To make a long story short,

we won.

to say the least — to make

the minimum commentabout smth.

para no decir más The lm was boring and

long, to say the least.

try on — put on new

clothes to test them for size

or look

probarse ( la ropa) Try on this leather coat, it’s

very g ood. She tried it on,

but it didn’t t her a t all.

try one’s h and

at something — tryprobar algo, probar suerte

con algo

I want to try my hand

at painting.

turn on / off — switch on /

off

encender/apagar Turn on the radio. Turn off

the water.

turn out to be — result/end

this w ay

resultar He turned out to be a very

good actor.

turn over a n ew leaf —

make a fresh start in life,

work, etc.

empezar de nuevo, hacer

borrón y cue nta nueva

He promises to turn over

a new leaf and quit alcohol

for good.

turn the tide — reverse t he

course of events

cambiar el curso de los

eventos

The new evidence turned

the tide, and the defendantwas a cquitted of charges.

twist one’s arm — make

to agree

retorcer brazos, obligar

a alguien a hacer algo

en c ontra de su voluntad

They t wisted his a rm to sell

the house.

under the weather — feel

ill

resfriado I’m a little under the weather

today.

up-and-coming —

showing promise of future

success

prometedor He is an up-and-coming

young lawyer who might

help yo u with your case.

up in arms — hostile to,

in strong protest against

something

protestar, estar en contra The employees a re

up in arms abo ut the new

retirement rules.


30/31

up in the a ir — undecided colgado en el aire,

indenido

My vacation plans are still

up in the air.

up to par — equal

in standard

adecuado y normal His behavior isn’t up to par.

used to — did often in the

past, but not now

solía (hacer algo) I used to play the piano

when I was in school (but I

don’t play i t now).

walk o n air — be very

happy

estar en las n ubes, estar

muy feliz

He g ot the job and

is w alking on air now.

waste o ne’s b reath —

speak uselessly,

to no purpose

esforzarse en vano Don’t waste your breath

trying to make him do it,

he won’t change his m ind.

watch one’s st ep —

be careful

tener cuidado, ser

cauteloso

Watch your step!

watch out — look ou t,

be careful

tener cuidado Watch out for that car!

Watch out!

wet blanket — a kill-joy,

who s poils e verybody’s fun

aguaestas Remember what a wet

blanket he was last time?

Please don’t invite himagain.

What’s t he

matter? — What is it?¿Qué pasa? What’s the matter? What

happened?

which way the wind

blows — what the real

situation is

cuál es la situación real

(en qué dirección sopla

el viento)

He knows which way the

wind blows a nd always a cts

accordingly.

white lie — unimportant lie mentira piadosa A white lie is told to spare

your feelings.

word for word — in the

same words

literalmente Tell me word for word what

he sa id.

would rather — prefer preferir I’d rather stay at home

today.


31/31

Documents

Fraces Idiomaticas