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Spanish Idioms

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Terms

undefined, object
copy deck
perder la cabeza
to lose one's head/lose one's cool
ir a medias
to go fifty-fifty/go halves
romper los codos
to study very hard/to rack one's brains
cuatro letras
a few lines
en la actualidad
at the present time/right now
hacer escala
to land/make a stop
darle a uno la gana de
to feel like/want to
pagar a plazo
to pay in installments/to make payments
hecho y derecho
mature/grown-up/full-fledged
en el fondo
at heart/by nature
de un día para otro
from one day to the next/day by day
llover a cántaros
to pour/rain bucketfulls/to rain cats and dogs
caradura
nervy/brazen
boca arriba
face up/on one's back
al pie de la letra
word for word/thoroughly
de dirección única
one-way
prestar ayuda
to help/give aid/lend a hand
a fondo
thoroughly/fully
tener la culpa
to be to blame/be at falt
en fin
in short/well (expletive)
sobre todo
especially/particularly/above all
no poder ver a alguien
not to be able to tolerate, stand someone
llevar a cabo
to carry out/accomplish
a la fuerza
by force/forcibly
echar una mano
to lend a hand/help out
hora fija
exact time/time agreed upon/right on time
en primer lugar
in the first place
dar rabia
to anger/make furious
ni en sueños
no way/by no means/unthinkable
que más da
what's the difference/so what
a través de (los años)
through/across (the years)
tocarle a uno
to be one's turn/to concern one
frente a frente
face to face
hacer el ridículo
to make a fool of oneself
en aquel entonces
at that time/on that occasion
dar la lata
to annoy/bother/prester
de todas maneras
at any rate/in any event/no matter what happens
estar hasta la coronilla de
to be fed up with/to have enough of
armar líos
to make trouble/confussion or difficulties/raise a rumpus
por lo visto
apparently/seemingly/evidently/judging by appearances
hoy en día (hoy día)
nowadays/these days
en mangas de camisa
in shirt sleeves
tarde or temprano
sooner or later/eventually
hacer puente
to take the intervening day off (in order to have a long weekend)
estar de luto
to be in mourning
meterse con
to pick a fight with
pues bien
all right then
cara o cruz
heads of tails
dar por cierto
to be certain
matar el tiempo
to kill or waste time
dar por hecho
to assume/take for granted
tener lugar
to take place/be held/occur
estar a gusto
to be comfortable/at ease/contented
al revés
the contrary/opposite/wrong side/inside out
es decir
that is to say/that is/in other words
de la noche a la mañana
overnight/all at once
hay moros en la costa
the coast is not clear/something is wrong
llamar la atención
to attract attention/call attention to/to repremand/censure
mejor dicho
or rather/better yet
tener en cuenta
to keep in mind/consider
manos a la obra
let's get to work
figurarse que
to imagine/guess (that)
a fines de
toward the end of/late in
por si acaso
just in case/if by chance/in the event that
tener ganas de
to feel like/desire/wish
desde luego
of course/naturally
de mal en peor
from bad to worse
en todo caso
anyway/in any event
de cuando en cuando
from time to time/ocassionally
de hoy a mañana
any time now/before tomorrow/when you least expect it
pasado de moda
out of date/out of style/passé
encogerse de hombros
to shrug one's shoulders
dejarle a uno plantado
to stand someone up/to leave one in the lurch/leave one high and dry
juntarse con
to associate with/to get together with
sin remedio
hopeless/beyond solution
oír hablar de
to hear about/to hear tell of
de ningún modo
no way/by no means/under no circumstances
contar con
to depend upon/count on
poner en marcha
to start/put in motion
estar al tanto
to be up to date/to have the latest news or information
darle a uno lo mismo
to be all the same to one
tanto mejor (peor)
soo much better (worse)
chuletas
cheat sheets/crib sheets (for an exam)
no poder más
not to be able to stand or endure, or tolerate anymore
hacerse tarde
to become late/to be getting (or growing) late
darle a uno vergüenza
to be ashamed/to be (too) bashful or shy
de nuevo
again/once more/another time/anew
o sea
that is/in other words (expletive)
dar a luz
to give birth (to)
matar dos pájaros de un tiro
to kill two birds with one stone
de buena gana
willingly/with pleasure
estar a punto de
to be at the point of/be about to
serle a uno igual
to be all the same to one
tener fama de
to have the reputation of
ni soñar
no way/not by a long shot/far from it/not by any means
puesto que
since/as long as
ganarse la vida
to earn (or make) a living
meterse en lo que no le importa
to be nosey/to butt in/(too) inquisitive
aprobado
passing (as a grade)
llevarse bien con
to get along well with
quedar en
to agree on/come to a mutual understanding or decision about
ya lo creo
of course/certainly
echar de menos
to miss/feel the lack or loss of/long for
algo por el estilo
something like that/something of that kind
dar rabia
to anger/make furious
a mano
(made) by hand/nearby/within reach/on hand
darle a uno coraje
to make one angry/to provoke one
ahora bien
now then/well then
refrescar la memoria
to refresh one's memory
de una vez (y para siempre)
once (and for all)
dejar en paz
to leave alone/let be
morderse la lengua
to hold or control one's tongue/to bite one's tongue
cuesta abajo
downhill/to be difficult
ni mucho menos
far from it/nor anything like it
por las buenas o por las malas
whether one likes it or not
tener la cabeza a pájaros
to be a bird-brain/act foolishly
al fin y al cabo
after all/in the end
de aquí (ahora) en adelante
from now on/in the future
empeñarse en (+infinitive)
to persist in or be bent on/be determined to
por poco
almost/just about/nearly
abrirse paso
to make one's way
en cuanto
as soon as/the moment that
dar una vuelta
to walk/take a stroll
no tener remedio
to be beyond repair, help or recourse
punto de vista
point of view/standpoint
¿en qué quedamos?
what do we agree upon/on? what do we decide/what's the decision?
cosa de risa
a laughing matter
de manera que
so that/as a result
al parecer
apparently
hacer juego
to match/go well (with)
cuesta arriba
uphill/to be easy
salir con la suya
to have or get one's own way
darse maña
to manage/not to be all thumbs/to do (something) with some degree of care, skill
romper la cabeza
rack one's brains
mal pensado
evil minded/to think the worst (of)
darse cuenta de
to realize/be aware of
echar una ojeada
to cast a glance/take a quick look
dar la mano
to shake hands
estar hecho(a) polvo
to be exhausted
prestar atención
to pay attention/be alert
de ninguna manera
no way/by no means/under no circumstances
poner en ridículo
to make a fool of/humiliate
tener gracia
to be funny/witty
a mediados de
about or around the middle of
como una fiera
like a wild beast;furiously
al principio
at first/initially/in the beginning
corto de vista
nearsighted
a lo mejor
as luck may have it/probably
valer la pena
to be worth (while)/advantageous
un no sé que
a certain something
dejarse de historias
to cut out the nonsence/to come to the point
estar de moda
to be fashionable, stylish, smart/ to be popular
mal genio
bad disposition or temper
de un solo sentido
one-way
echar a perder
to spoil/ruin/go to waste
en resumidas cuentas
in short/in a word
tener los huesos molidos
to be overly tired/exhausted
jornada intensiva
a work schedule in which one works straight through without any breaks in order to be released at an earlier hour, usually offered in the summerime
estar rendido
to be exhausted
cantárselas claras
to speak with outright frankness/to tell someone off
de un modo u otro
in one way or another/somehow
dar la razón
to agree (with)/acknowledge a person to be right
y pico
and some odd (as in numbers)/and something
tomar el pelo
to put someone on/ to deceive/pull one's leg
quedar bien con
to get along well with after casuing a favorable imprssion/to be hit with/to be on even grounds with
en vano
in vain/fruitlessly
ni a tiros
not for anything/not for love or money
no tener pelos en la lengua
to be outspoken/unreserved in speech
en lugar de
instead of/in place of
dar el pésame por
to give one's condolences (for/on) to extend one's sympathy for
hacerle daño a uno
to hurt or be harmful to one
cruzarse los brazos
to remain indifferent/to remain passive/not to take action
buen provecho
good appetite/enjoy your mail
estar al corriente
to be up to date/to have the latest news or information
de modo que
so and so/so that
llevar la contra
to contradict/oppse/object
sin novedad
as usual/nothing new/no news
echar al correo
to mail/post
ponerse colorado
to blush
por supuesto
of course/certainly
correr riesgo
to chance/run risk
con la condición de que
on the condition that/provided that
andar de rodeos
to beat around the bush/to go in circles
dar por seguro
to feel sure
parecer mentira
it hardly seems possinle
pedir prestado
to borrow/ask to lend
llegar a ser
to become/get to be
en broma
as a joke/in jest/kiddingly
hacer caso
to pay attention
suspendido
failing (as a grade)
tener confianza con
to be on intimate (informal) terms with
pasar el rato
to kill time/pass the time away
a última hora
at the last minute/in the nick of time
ir del brazo
to warm arm in arm
tropezar con
to run into/encounter/come or stumble upon
cambia de chaquetas
two-faced/to change one's mind (oppinion) often to suit the occasion/situation
hacer cola
to stand in line/to line up
ponerse de acuerdo
to come to an agreement/to be in accord
estar de buen humor
to be in a good mood/frame of mind
de memoria
by heart/from memory
hacer el papel de
to play the role of/the part of
hacerse el tonto
to play dumb/act the fool/play innocent
todo lo posible
everything possible/one's utmost
boca abajo
face down/on one's stomach
nacer de pies
to be born lucky/with a silver spoon in your mouth
sobresaliente
outstanding/excellent (as a grade)
por casualidad
by chance/by the way/incidentally
contra viento y marea
come what may/come hell or high water
tomar a pecho
to take seriously or to heart
ante todo
above all
a pesar de
in spite of/despite
cosa de
about/more or less
estar de acuerdo
to agree/to be of the same oppinion
dicho y hecho
sooner said than done/said and done
echar la culpa a
to lay the blame on
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