Spanish idioms Literal translation English equivalent Picture representation

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

Beber los aires por alguien

To drink the breezes for somebody

To be madly in love with someone

Estar hasta las narices de algo

To be up to the nostrils with 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 street

To make somebody`s life a misery

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 cortas

Lies have short legs 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 To the letter, or exactly

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

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 broke out

all hell 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 asador

To put all the meat on the 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 the barrier

To stay out of harm`s way

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 think

I don't give a toss what you 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 ugliest girl.

I always get the short end of the stick / I 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 are fine.

It will do just fine. One thing is as good as 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 of the rifle

To backfire. To have the opposite result 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 la magnesia

To confuse gymnastics with 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 are fine

It will do just fine. One thing is as good as 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

Put your feet on the ground Come down to earth

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 the coals

From the frying pan into the fire

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 pared

To be between the sword and the wall

To be caught between a rock and a hard place

Como pez en el agua Like a fish in the sea To be in one`s element

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 else

To pass the buck

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 el santo

That was arriving and kissing 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