Spanish Idioms

JazminesII · 05-02-2010, 10:22

Cortar el bacalao - To rule the roost (literal: to cut the codfish

)

JazminesII · 06-02-2010, 08:34

Destornillarse de risa = to split one's sides laughing (literal: to become unscrewed with laugher)

JazminesII · 06-02-2010, 08:45

Descubrir el polvorín = To uncover the secret (literal: to discover the gunpowder)

JazminesII · 08-02-2010, 08:44

Vaciar el costal = To get it off one's chest (literal: to empty the bag)

mimosa · 08-02-2010, 11:35

A bit off topic here but I had a funny situation when I first came to Spain.

I had a bad cold and went to the chemist.
After trying to make the pharmasist understand with sniffles tissues and sneezes she said to me.

AHHH.... CONSTIPADA!!!

No, ... I'm not constipated I replied!!!

In the end she showed my some medication that was obviously for a cold and I bought it.
I had a laugh when I found out that constipada is having a cold.

I also once asked for a jam without preservativos!!!!

JazminesII · 08-02-2010, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by mimosa

A bit off topic here but I had a funny situation when I first came to Spain.

I had a bad cold and went to the chemist.
After trying to make the pharmasist understand with sniffles tissues and sneezes she said to me.

AHHH.... CONSTIPADA!!!

No, ... I'm not constipated I replied!!!

In the end she showed my some medication that was obviously for a cold and I bought it.
I had a laugh when I found out that constipada is having a cold.

I also once asked for a jam without preservativos!!!!

He he he (or maybe I should say je je je LOL) my OH once used "embarrasado" in the context of being embarrassed.......I laughed so much I nearly choked

CDThader · 08-02-2010, 15:20

Nice one Jaz..(For those that don't know, embarrasado in Spanish means pregnant) It could be confusing if you tell someone they are making you pregnant instead of embarrassed.. .Do you ever look up a Spanish word in the Spanish - English dictionary, and haven't a clue what the English means either. ...An example. Iroques (Spanish) Iroquis (English)!!!! Any idea. or Isogono (Sp) Isogonic (Eng)

How about this for a word ..izquierdoide.....one tainted or tinged with leftist views.
(Maybe Franco thought that one up)

Me oye como quien oye llover...he pays not the slightest attention to what I say, I'm wasting my breath...literally, It's something like.... he looks at me how he looks at the rain.
CD

JazminesII · 09-02-2010, 10:30

Probably one of the funniest slips up is the use of "preservativo" and hoping to receive some jam

A Galician Spanish Teacher I know told me about somebody who made that faux par........said person ended up red faced when she realised she'd asked for condoms at breakfast

One I recall making was mishearing the word miedo and thinking I'd heard the word mierda when chatting to a local one day......I initially thought he'd said something totally different to what was actually said due to mishearing just one word.....luckily I clarified and repeated the word, he looked at me and then restated the sentence emphasising miedo ;-)

JazminesII · 10-02-2010, 10:29

Ok well here's today's pick of the day.......

Echar leña al fuego = To add fuel to the fire (literal: to throw wood on the fire)

baldilocks · 10-02-2010, 14:17

One of the more embarassing ones is to ask for pechos in a shop when what you really want is peaches

05-02-2010, 10:22	#1 (permalink)
JazminesII JazminesII is well actually has found lots of familiar folks ;-)) Spain Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Costa Cálida (Hot Coast) ;-)) and UK (;- Posts: 1,406 Thanks: 55 Thanked 94 Times in 93 Posts Rep Power: 38	Spanish Idioms Cortar el bacalao - To rule the roost (literal: to cut the codfish)

06-02-2010, 08:34	#2 (permalink)
JazminesII JazminesII is well actually has found lots of familiar folks ;-)) Spain Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Costa Cálida (Hot Coast) ;-)) and UK (;- Posts: 1,406 Thanks: 55 Thanked 94 Times in 93 Posts Rep Power: 38	je je je Destornillarse de risa = to split one's sides laughing (literal: to become unscrewed with laugher)

08-02-2010, 08:44	#4 (permalink)
JazminesII JazminesII is well actually has found lots of familiar folks ;-)) Spain Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Costa Cálida (Hot Coast) ;-)) and UK (;- Posts: 1,406 Thanks: 55 Thanked 94 Times in 93 Posts Rep Power: 38	Para vosotros Vaciar el costal = To get it off one's chest (literal: to empty the bag)

09-02-2010, 10:30	#8 (permalink)
JazminesII JazminesII is well actually has found lots of familiar folks ;-)) Spain Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Costa Cálida (Hot Coast) ;-)) and UK (;- Posts: 1,406 Thanks: 55 Thanked 94 Times in 93 Posts Rep Power: 38	Probably one of the funniest slips up is the use of "preservativo" and hoping to receive some jam A Galician Spanish Teacher I know told me about somebody who made that faux par........said person ended up red faced when she realised she'd asked for condoms at breakfast One I recall making was mishearing the word miedo and thinking I'd heard the word mierda when chatting to a local one day......I initially thought he'd said something totally different to what was actually said due to mishearing just one word.....luckily I clarified and repeated the word, he looked at me and then restated the sentence emphasising miedo ;-) Last edited by JazminesII; 09-02-2010 at 10:38.

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06-02-2010, 08:45	#3 (permalink)
JazminesII JazminesII is well actually has found lots of familiar folks ;-)) Spain Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Costa Cálida (Hot Coast) ;-)) and UK (;- Posts: 1,406 Thanks: 55 Thanked 94 Times in 93 Posts Rep Power: 38	Descubrir el polvorín = To uncover the secret (literal: to discover the gunpowder)

08-02-2010, 11:35	#5 (permalink)
mimosa mimosa is.... Established Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Barcelona Posts: 127 Thanks: 4 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts Rep Power: 10	A bit off topic here but I had a funny situation when I first came to Spain. I had a bad cold and went to the chemist. After trying to make the pharmasist understand with sniffles tissues and sneezes she said to me. AHHH.... CONSTIPADA!!! No, ... I'm not constipated I replied!!! In the end she showed my some medication that was obviously for a cold and I bought it. I had a laugh when I found out that constipada is having a cold. I also once asked for a jam without preservativos!!!!

08-02-2010, 15:20	#7 (permalink)
CDThader CDThader is back on board Contributing Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: I live in Ciudad Quesada, an Urbanisation of Rojales, Alicante Age: 68 Posts: 796 Thanks: 28 Thanked 51 Times in 50 Posts Rep Power: 28	Nice one Jaz..(For those that don't know, embarrasado in Spanish means pregnant) It could be confusing if you tell someone they are making you pregnant instead of embarrassed.. .Do you ever look up a Spanish word in the Spanish - English dictionary, and haven't a clue what the English means either. ...An example. Iroques (Spanish) Iroquis (English)!!!! Any idea. or Isogono (Sp) Isogonic (Eng) How about this for a word ..izquierdoide.....one tainted or tinged with leftist views. (Maybe Franco thought that one up) Me oye como quien oye llover...he pays not the slightest attention to what I say, I'm wasting my breath...literally, It's something like.... he looks at me how he looks at the rain. CD

10-02-2010, 10:29	#9 (permalink)
JazminesII JazminesII is well actually has found lots of familiar folks ;-)) Spain Guru Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Costa Cálida (Hot Coast) ;-)) and UK (;- Posts: 1,406 Thanks: 55 Thanked 94 Times in 93 Posts Rep Power: 38	Ok well here's today's pick of the day....... Echar leña al fuego = To add fuel to the fire (literal: to throw wood on the fire)

10-02-2010, 14:17	#10 (permalink)
baldilocks baldilocks is.... Banned Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Castillo de Locubín, Jaén Age: 69 Posts: 1,591 Thanks: 53 Thanked 92 Times in 87 Posts Rep Power: 0	One of the more embarassing ones is to ask for pechos in a shop when what you really want is peaches

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