Spanish Idiom May 8, 2008
May 8, 2008 by javier1950In Spain, when a person would travel to America, the trip would be described as “Cruzar (pasar) el charco”, which literally means “To cross the puddle”.
Spanish Saying May 7, 2008
May 7, 2008 by javier1950“Poderoso caballero es don Dinero” literally translates to “Powerful gentlemen is Mister Money”. Money talks.
Spanish Saying May 5, 2008
May 5, 2008 by javier1950“Las palabras se las lleva” literally translates to “Words the wind carries away”. The less literary equivalent in English is “It is better to have a promise in writing”.
Spanish Idiom May 1, 2008
May 1, 2008 by javier1950There are at least 50 different ways to say “being drunk” in Spanish, and some day I will list them. One version is “coger una merluza”, which literally means “to grab a hake”. Hake is a very popular fish in Spain.
Spanish Idiom April 30, 2008
April 30, 2008 by javier1950When we’re desperate sometimes we “clutch at straws”. In Spanish, one might clutch a burning nail, as in “agarrarse a un clavo ardiendo”.
Spanish Saying April 29, 2008
April 29, 2008 by javier1950“The early bird catches the worm” has in its Spanish equivalent a different prize for early risers: “El que madruga coge la oruga”. The literal translation is “He who rises early gets the caterpillar”. The worm (gusano) may have been sacrificed in order for the phrases to rhyme.
Spanish Idiom April 28, 2008
April 28, 2008 by javier1950In English, we often hear the phrase “like a deer in the headlights” to describe someone who is “scared stiff”. Spanish has a similar phrase involving deer: “tener un miedo cerval”, which literally means “to have a cervine fear”.
Spanish Saying April 25, 2008
April 25, 2008 by javier1950“Let bygones be bygones” has as an equivalent in Spanish the phrase “Lo pasado, pasado esta”, which literally translates to “The past, past it is”.
Spanish Idiom April 24, 2008
April 24, 2008 by javier1950“Mas derecho que una vela” literally translates to “Straighter than a candle”. One dictionary entry for an equivalent in English is “straight as a die”. We often hear “straight as an arrow”, but usually when describing the flight of an object.
Spanish Idiom April 23, 2008
April 23, 2008 by javier1950One Spanish equivalent of “fat as a pig” is “mas gordo que un sollo”, which literally means “fatter than a sturgeon”.
