Spanish Idiom January 9, 2008

“Como Pedro en su casa” translates to “Like Peter in his house”. The colloquial meaning is “To feel right at home” or “As if he owned the place”.

Spanish Idiom of the Day July 18, 2007

Here’s an idiom or saying that involves one category in Spanish and another one in English

“Desnudar a un santo para vestir a otro” literally translates to “To take the clothes off of one saint in order to clothe another”. The equivalent in English is “To rob Peter to pay Paul”.

Spanish Idiom of the Day July 2, 2007

In English when we don’t know someone’s name we refer to “so and so” or “John Doe”. In Spanish he’d be known as “fulano de tal”. When we’re dealing with three people we employ “Tom, Dick and Harry”. In Spain these three gentlemen are known as “Fulano, Mengano y Zutano”.

Modismo del dia 18 de Mayo de 2007

Idioms involving proper names

“Esos son otros Lopez”  The colloquial meaning is “That’s another kettle of fish” An American idiom with a proper name is “Keeping  up with Jones’s” which signifies the effort to keep pace with one’s neighbors in the accumulation of material goods. Anyone know of a similar phrase in Spanish?

Idiom of the Day March 23, 2007

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