In the United States we still hear people use the British idiom “To carry coals to Newcastle”. It sounds both quaint and antiquated, but I’m not sure we have anything to replace it (Department of Redundancy Department?). The Spanish version is “Ir a vendimiar y llevarse de postre uvas” which translates as “To go harvest grapes and bring grapes for dessert”
English: “To make a mountain out of a mole hill”
Spanish: “Hacer de una pulga un elefante”, which means literally “To make an elephant out of a flea”
The word for “thumb” in Spanish is “pulgar”. I understand that the root is “pulga” and refers to the use of the thumb in killing fleas back in the Middle Ages. The Spanish word for “inch” is “pulgada” and has the same root.
There are other Spanish idioms using flea or fleas which we’ll look at in the future. In English the only “flea” based idiom I can think of offhand is a “Flea-bag hotel” Anybody know if there’s a Spanish equivalent?
English: “Not to beat around the bushes”, meaning “To get straight to the point”
Spanish: “No andarse por las ramas” which literally means “Not to walk among the branches” Another Spanish equivalent is “Ir al grano” which means “To go to the heart of the matter”.
English: “To treat someone like dirt”
Spanish: “Tratar a alguien como a una zapatilla” Translates to “To treat someone like a slipper”
The other day I listed some idioms in English using :Irish”. There’s one I forgot, “Irish Alzheimer’s” It’s when all you remember are the grudges.
Spanish: “Escapar por los pelos” Literal translation: “To escape by the hairs” In English we’d say “To escape by the skin of one’s teeth”
English: “Go tell it to the Marines”
Spanish: “Cuentaselo a Rita” Go tell it to Rita
The other day I posted an idiom “Six of one and a half dozen of the other” Another Spanish equivalent is “Olivo y aceituno, todo es uno” Olivo and aceituno are different words that mean the same thing, i.e. olive tree
Spanish: “Echar toda la carne en el asador” Literally this means “To throw all the meat on the grill (or spit): The English equivalent in the dictionary is “To give it everything one has”. I think another version might be “To give it the old college try”
English: “Your better half” - Usually means one’s spouse, and most of the time used to refer to one’s wife
Spanish: “Con tu costilla” Literal translation is “With your rib” which must refer to the Bible.
English: “Six of one and half a dozen of the other”
Spanish Equivalent: “Una de cal y otra de arena” Literal translation: “One of lime and another of sand”
Here’s an idiom that is the only one I remember from the year I lived in Mallorca at age five. “En boca cerrada no entran moscas” Literally this means “Flies do not enter a closed mouth” The English equivalent is “Silence is golden”
Here’s an idiom that has a close equivalent in Spanish: “To wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve”
Spanish: “Llevar el corazon en la mano” Another Spanish idiom using “corazon” (heart) is:”Me dice el corazon” which I have seen translated as “I have a hunch” or “Something tells me that”. I think another equivalent is “My gut tells me”
