Spanish Idiom July 14, 2008

When people are lined up in a row we call it “single file”. In Spanish, one might say “fila india”, which means “Indian file”.

Spanish Idiom July 1, 2008

“Ser de mantequilla de Flandes” literally means “to be of butter of Flanders”. The idiomatic translation is “to be a weakling”.

Idiom of the Day January 7, 2008

In a previous posting we have seen that “India ink” becomes “Chinese ink” or “tinta china”  in Spanish. “Sudar tinta china” literally translates to “To sweat Chinese ink”. The colloquial equivalents in English are: “To sweat blood” or “to sweat bullets”.

Spanish Idiom of the Day August 3, 2007

In the always dangerous category of nationalities, here are two colloquial terms.

“Cabeza de turco” literally means “Turk’s head”. Idiomatically it means “scapegoat” or “fall guy”.

“Llave inglesa’” or “English key” means “monkey wrench”.

Idiom of the Day June 14, 2007

We’ll look at an idiom that reveals much about particular nationalities. In English there is a somewhat obscure saying “To take a French leave”, which means to leave without saying goodbye. In French the equivalent is “Sortir a l’anglaise” which translates to “To take an English leave”. We’ll break the tie with Spanish, in which the colloquial equivalent is “Despedirse a la francesa”. The French lose two to one. Anyone know of a similar saying in other languages?

Spanish Idiom of the Day May 31, 2007

Let’s look at some terms involving nationalities

“Montana (montanya - I can’t do a tilde - the squiggle over the n)  rusa” literally means “Russian mountain”, but is actually the Spanish term for “roller coaster”. In Spain there is also an “ensalada rusa” or “Russian salad” which I almost never ate, but which consists of potato and unconscionable amounts of mayonnaise.

Spanish Idiom of the Day May 30, 2007

“De pe a pa” I don’t think there is a literal translation, but the idiomatic meaning is:

“From top to bottom” or “From A to Z” or “From soup to nuts”

Here’s a nationality based idiom that may reveal something about the ancient cultures  that we look to:

“Obra de Romanos” literally translates to “Work of Romans”. The equivalent in English is “Herculean task”

Modismo del Dia 17 de Mayo de 2007

Strictly speaking, the following is not an idiom, but the contrast between English and Spanish may be interesting.

English: “India ink”

Spanish: “Tinta china”

Let’s look at a couple of nationality based idioms

“Ponerse flamenco” means literally “To act Flemish” The colloquial meaning is “To act cocky” or “To get cocky”. Recall the reigns of Carlos V and his son and grandson and the dominant influence of the Flemish courtiers.

In English we describe a big drinker as someone who “Drinks like a fish”. In Spanish I have encountered “Beber como un cosaco” or “Beber mas que un cosaco”"To drink like a Cossack” and “Beber como un tudesco”, Tudesco meaning Germanic.

Modismo del Dia 8 de Mayo de 2007

Spanish: “Hubo moros y cristianos” This translates as “There were Moors and Christians” The colloquial meaning, per the dictionary, is “There was a big brawl”. I prefer what is now probably an anachronistic saying: “It was like the Hatfields and the McCoys”. In English we describe a brawl as a “melee”, “a battle royale” or a “donnybrook”. As to the last entry, I recently overheard someone say that a “donnybrook” must be Irish in origin, clearly ascribing a certain pugnaciousness to the Irish (see a previous post regarding the Irish as in “Getting one’s Irish up”

Idiom of the Day March 16, 2007

Here’s a nationality based idiom

Spanish: “Hacer el sueco” Literally it means “To act like a Swede”. Idiomatically it translates as “Playing dumb”, i.e. pretending not to understand.

A Spanish idiom that reveals some history is “No hay moros en la costa” which literally means “There are no Moors on the coast”.  The English counterpart is “The coast is clear”

Tomorrow is Saint Patrick’s Day, so I have been thinking of idioms connected with things or persons Irish. Here are some, but I don’t have Spanish equivalents (I don’t know of any Spanish idioms that include “Irish” or “Ireland”

Irish twins - siblings born less than 12 months apart

Irish Pennant - a loose string on a garment

Getting one’s Irish up - Getting angry and preparing to fight