Spanish ConnectionSo let’s dive in the 13 funniest Spanish idioms we will learn today 🙂
1-“Estar hasta en la sopa” –To be even in the soup”
We use this expressions when someone or something is everywhere, you know when suddenly you see a people, it might be ages last time you saw them last time, but suddenly you start seeing them everywhere, I am sure that has happened to us all, well in that occasion you will comment
“!Díos mío Martin! Ahora nos vemos en todos los sitios, !Estás hasta en la sopa!”- God Martin! Now I see you everywhere!
We can use it as well, for something that is everywhere, like a trendy thing, for example when you listen a song in the radio, and you think that is a cool song but then you start to hear it everywhere and becomes a bit too much….that would be the time to use
“esta canción me gustaba, pero ahora me aburre, !está hasta en la sopa!”-I liked this song but now it bores me, it is everywhere”)
WATCH OUT-It might have a good or a bad meaning, like in boring/annoying way or something is good, or not good but kind of a joke. All depends on how you say it.
2-Ser más pesado que una vaca en brazos-“To be heavier than a cow in your arms”
It is quite popular to talk about something, but mostly someone who is really annoying, like when someone is tickling you non-stop for several minutes or asking you something repeatedly to try to persuade you after having said “no” several times, you will probably say in order them to stop them to bothering you something like
“Eres más pesado que una vaca en brazos, ya te he dicho que no”- You are a pain in neck (kind of), I told you no already”
(sometimes works….sometimes doesn’t…and they will ask again)
Note* we can use it as well to talk about people who aren’t talking to us right now(so yeah….behind their backs…)like if you can’t stand someone from your office because they are always talking about kids, work etc…you could use this expression too to define them to your friend and family
Such and such are super annoying, they are always talking about the same- “tal y tal son más pesados que una vaca en brazos, siempre hablando de lo mismo”
3-“Se te va la olla”-Your pot goes away
In this sentences olla, that most of the times is pot, means head.
And we have a few meanings here
a)We use it when someone comes up with a crazy idea, or say silly things and we feel they are losing their minds, I think in English you will use “to go bonkers”,
If you have a crazy night thanks to one of your friend you can say
“No sé que le pasó a Juan, pero se le fue la olla y estuvo buscando pelea toda la noche”-I do not know what happened to Juan, but he went bonkers and he was looing for a fight the whole night!
I am sure we all have one friend like Juan at least ones who “se le fue la olla una noche 🙂
It can be use when it is not something totally crazy but something you will never do,and using this sentences we mean someone has lost the plot.
“A Carla se le ha ido la olla, se ha apuntado a correr un marathon, yo no lo hago ni loca”-Carla got crazy, she just join a marathon, I won’t do it
–you can apply this sentences to you too saying “se me va la olla”, like if you are doing something you thought you would never do
“No sé que estoy haciendo, me he apuntado al maratón con Claudia, se me ha ido la olla”-I do not know what I am doing, I sign up for the marathon with Claudia, I am going bonkers”
- b) When you get distracted and forget to do something, if you were supposed to meet your friend at 7.30 for dinner and she phones you at 7.30 to ask you where you are, and you totally forgot, your excuse will be
“Lo siento, me he puesto a leer y se me ha ido la olla por completo, voy en media hora”-
Iam sorry I started reading and I lost the sense of time, I will be there in half and hour
Because sometimes life gets on the way and you get caught up doing….things…haha
- c) sometimes we can use it when you are not focus as you should on something like if your friend is talking to you about the plan for the weekend and you suddenly stop listening, you will say
“Lo siento tío*, se me ha ido la olla, ¿puedes repetirlo?”- Iam sorry bro, I lost the plot, can you say it again?
4-Andar con la hora pegada al culo-“Walk with the hour stuck to your bum”
We use this one to express we are running late, or not just yet but we have just enough time to do what we want/need to, and if you get distracted you will be late.
If you are getting ready for a meeting and one of your friends phone you, you will quickly hang on them saying
“Lo siento, no puedo hablar, te llamo luego que tengo una reunión en media hora yando con la hora pegada al culo”- I am sorry I can’t talk right now, I have a meeting in half an hour and I have just enough time to get there.
Or if you know someone who is always late (ejem…ejem….guilty!)
You can say
“Necesito controlar mi tiempo mejor, siempre voy con la hora pegada al culo”
I need to manage my time better, I am always running behind
5-Ser de la cofradía puño cerrado-“To be from the brotherhood of the closed fist”
It is just a say in a nicer way that someone is “stingy”
If you are planning a trip and you are talking with your friends about one of your common friend who is a bit of a “thigh ass” and you ask if he is coming, your friend might answer.
“¿Carlos?No, no creo que venga, el viaje es un poco caro y ya sabes que es de la cofradía del puño cerrado”-Carlos?No I don’t think he will come, the trip is a bit expensive and you know he is a tight ass.
*Note, sometimes we make it shorter way saying that someone is from the brotherhood, “es de la cofradía”
6-Estar al loro-“to be to the parrot”
In English equals to “be with it”, a person who is always paying attention,
“Si quieres estar al loro de lo que se lleva esta temporada necesitas mirar esta revistas de moda”- If you want to be with it in what is trending this season, you need to have a look at this fashion magazine.
or we can use it to advice someone to pay attention to a specific thing/moment.
“Voy a la ducha, estate al lore por si suena el teléfono”-I am going to have a shower, pay attention to the phone, just in case it rings”
7-“Pasarse tres pueblos.” –To pass three villages
a)Used when someone exaggerate about something like if you are talking about last night party and your friens says
“Tengo mucha resaca, ayer bebí más de 30 cervezas,” you will say “Ale, te has pasado 3 pueblos….ya serían algunas menos”
“I am so hangover, I drank more than 30 beers last night”-you will say…Come on…I am sure you did not drink that much, they would be a few less”
It always have in this way a humouristic point
b)But it can be used when someone is mean to someone like if you have a chubby-sensitive friend wearing a mini skirt and one of your friends say something l like
“¿Dónde vas con esa falda…pareces una foca”-“Where are you going with that skirt…you look like a seal” –I know super mean… –I know is super mean, that is why you will let your friend know,
You will tell your friend off saying
“Ten más cuidado, antes te has pasado 3 pueblos”-“Be more careful! You have crossed the line before”
Note*if the person exaggerates a lot,and you want to as well, we will add 4 villages and say “te has pasado 7 pueblos” instead of 3
8-“Ser más largo que un día sin pan.” Longer than a day without bread
The most similar I can think of in english is something similar to “as the day is long”, just for emphasis I guess….
Something that last forever, in Spain we love bread, we eat it everyday and in every meal so just the thought of not having bread it makes us suffer
We can used to refer to something is hard, boring….to sum up unpleasant
If you went to the cinema and your friend asked you how was the movie, and you kind of like it but it was pretty long you will say
“interesante, me gusto, pero es demasiado larga, tanto como un día sin pan”- Interesting, but too long, it as they day is long”
Or if you go to a work meeting and it seemed to last forever when is over you will think
!Gracias a Dios se ha terminado, ha sido más largo que un día sin pan “Thanks God is over, it has taken forever”
9-“Tener el guapo subido.” To have the handsome high
When someone has a day where they look specially good.
If you are going out and your friend looks stunning you will say to let her know, kind of kidding
“Guau, mirate, !hoy tienes el guapo subido!”-“Wow look at you, you look super”
Note*you can use it for yourself if there is a day you feel specially sexy.
You can just even thinking when you look at the mirror…”look at me, tengo el guapo subido hoy”
10-“Le quedan dos telediarios.” –“It has two newscast”
When something has little life left, it is close to an end (sometimes we use it for people too-but I do not really like it)
-If we talk about a really old t-shirt we will say (probably every time we wear it)
“A esta camiseta le quedan dos telediarios, esta viejisima” –“I need to get rid of this t-shirt it is so old..”
Or if you can feel one the relationship of one of your friend is close to an end, you can comment to other friend “Creo que a Javier y a Marga les quedan dos telediarios…”-“I think Javier and Marga are going to break up”
Or if you are fed up with your job and you want or think to leave can say once and again “Me quedan dos telediarios en esta empresa, no aguanto más” –“I have not much time left here, I can’t stand working in this company”
So as you can see not just one specific translations, all depends on the context
WATCH OUT-do not take it too literal, sometimes it takes a while, it is just our perception 😛
11-“Estar en el quinto pino.” –“To be un the fifth pine
We actually use this sentence to refer something is really far, at least further than we are willing to travel/walk, and/or in the middle or nowhere
If on a Saturday night you are all coy at your place and your friend who lives outside the city phones you last minute to say she is having a party, ok you will probably jump straight from the couch, but you also could be a lazy bum and say…
“!Y me lo dices ahora! Me da mucha pereza, es que vives en el quinto pino”-And you tell me this now, I feel really lazy, and you live in the middle of nowhere, so far away from the centre”
So the translation in English would be to be really far/in the middle of nowhere, kind of to be in the bonnies I hear sometimes, not sure if that is accurate, maybe is a Scottish thing, maybe someone in here can tell us.
12-“No está el horno para (pa’) bollos.” the oven is not ready for buns
This is probably my favourite form today, I think is a really great way to say it is not a good moment, the situation is tense, and if you think is makes more sense you would have thought at the beginning, it is not a good moment, the oven is not ready yet, so just wait for the perfect moment to get a better result. f your friend asked you to go to a party next Friday night but you are tired and all stress out because of work, with a lot of deadline (ok you probably will say yes…but imagine….at that moment on time that is the last thing you want to do) and you say no, but your friend keeps insisting you will say
-No seas pesada, he dicho que no y no me aburras que no está/tengo el horno para bollos “Do not be annoying, I said no, and do not insist it is not a good moment”
Or if you want to ask a favour to a friend and you phone them and their partner answer the phone, you explain to them you need a favour from your friend but if it is not a good moment the partner will warn you
“Mejor llamas mañana, acaba de tener una reunión con su jefe y no está el horno para bollos”-“You better call him tomorrow, he just had a meeting with the boss and it is not in a good mood”
Note-as you can see we can use the verb estar and tener, we use tener if the situation is more personal an applies directly to you, so you know you haven’t your oven ready
13-“Te quiero un huevo”- I love you an egg
A really common slang to say I love you a lot, but in a cooler way 🙂
So next time you want to express your feeling use it,
Note*you can use huevo-egg as well to indicate you like something a lot, me gusta un huevo 🙂 As you see Spanish is all about being imaginative and playing with words and contexts
As usual practice makes perfection so…Practice as much as you can, friends, family, pets…if you can not we actually have a facebook groups, it is a bunch of people who share the loved for the Spanish language , and we will love you there, I am going to put the link in the comments as well so you can click and go straight away and having to copy and past, here it goes
Come over and say hola and get your practice started https://www.facebook.com/groups/866618506762358/
if you love Spanish as I do, I got my e book in amazon,
it has over 140 idioms, with the english equivalent and
examples where you can use them.
Click here to get it https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Idioms-speak-native-classes-ebook/dp/B018IJSVSM?ie=UTF8&%2AVersion%2A=1&%2Aentries%2A=0
HOMEWORK-No homework today, just a question
I would like to know if you have a goal to share it with us , why do you study Spanish? Which level will you like to reach?What is your next goal?
if you have a wish you can ask regarding your Spanish language what will be?
SHARE IT, say it out loud (or type it away in the comments) so you commit to it, things get real when you share them.
Muchas gracias for being here-thank you all for being here
I will write you soon 🙂
