“Es la ultima gota de agua que hace rebosar la copa” literally translates to “It’s the last drop of water that makes the cup overflow”. The equivalent in English is “It’s the last straw that breaks the camel’s back”.
A couple of nautical or sea related sayings. “Remar en la misma galera” literally translates to “To row in the same galley”. In English we have a similarly nautical based idiom: “To be in the same boat” connoting that sometimes people’s fortunes are intertwined. “Dejarse llevar por (de) la corriente” literally means “to let oneself be carried away by the current”. The equivalent in English is “to follow the herd”.
Here are two idioms that are quite similar in both English and Spanish. “Estar atado de brazos” literally means “To be tied up of arms”. The equivalent in English is “to be bound hand and foot”. “Aqui hacen falta brazos” literally translates to “Arms are needed here”. The counterpart in English is “More hands are needed here”.
A couple of animal related idioms or sayings. “Hablo el buey y dijo mu” literally translates as “the ox spoke and said moo”. The idiomatic equivalent is “what do expect from a pig but a grunt”. An often heard description of someone who puts on airs, particularly with regard to erudition, is “a pompous ass”. The Spanish equivalent is “un burro cargado de letras”, which literally means “an ass weighed down with letters (as in a man of letters)”.
Here are two idioms, one in English and one in Spanish, using “cuchara” or “spoon”. “meter su cuchara” literally translates to “to stick his spoon in”. One equivalent in English is “to put one’s oar in”, but I prefer the more colloquial “to put one’s two cents in”. When one is born into a wealthy family we say “to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth”. The Spanish counterpart is “Ser criado entre algodones”, which literally means “To be raised between cotton cloths”. This saying connotes being pampered or “mollycoddled”.
Two idioms using “guerra” or “war”.
“Esta paella esta pidiendo guerra” literally translates to “this paella is asking for war”. The idiomatic meaning is “this paella is just crying out to be eaten”.
“Guerra sin cuartel” means “war without quarter”. In English we would say “merciless war” or “war where no quarter is given” or “all out war”.
Here are some idioms with a common theme involving saints, weather, ethnicity and fruit.
“Veranillo de San Juan” literally means “Little summer of Saint John”. The idiomatic translation is “warm spell in June”. The only similar saying in English that I can think of is “dog days of summer”. “Veranillo de San Martin (San Miguel)” has as its equivalent in English “Indian summer”. Another Spanish version is “veranillo del membrillo”, a “membrillo” being a “quince”.
Let’s look at a couple of idioms in English and their counterparts in Spanish. “Missing link” translates literally and idiomatically to “eslabon perdido”. However, when we refer to something as the “weak link”, it comes out as “skinny point”, as in “punto flaco”.
There are many idioms in both English and Spanish involving “dogs” or “perros”. What I find perplexing is that the vast majority cast dogs in a negative light, despite the saying “a dog is a man’s best friend”. “Estar de un humor de perros” literally translates to “to be in a mood of dogs”. The idiomatic meaning is “to be in a foul mood”. “Tiempos de perros” means literally “weathers of dogs”, and the idiomatic translation is “beastly weather”.
A couple of idioms employing the verb “chupar”, which means “to suck”. “Chupar banquillo” literally translates as “to suck the bench”, a sports term. In English we might say that a “bench-warmer” “rides the pine”. “Chuparle el dinero a uno” translates literally to “to suck money out of someone”. In English we would say “to bleed someone of money”.
