IDIOMS RECUPERATORIO

an old wives' tale

una creencia falsa, superstición (pasar la sal entre manos)

I wasn´t born yesterday

no nací ayer

beat sb black and blue

hit sb repeatedly until bruised

go back on one's word

no cumplir una promesa

have a yellow streak

be a coward (the boys accused him of having a yellow streak bc he wouldn’t enter the house”)

can’t have it both ways

refuse to make a decision bet. two pleasant things

be in the red

owe money to a bank

see red

suddenly become very angry

pitch black

very dark (It was pitch black as I walked home)

green with envy

very jealous

have words with sb

have an argument with sb

keep one's wits about one

to stay alert and calm in order to think quickly during a difficult situation

in deep water

in trouble

make sb's day

make sb very happy

look at sth through rose-colored spectacles

see sth from an unrealistically positive POV

the black sheep of the family

oveja negra

the pot calling the kettle black

el burro hablando de orejas

the year dot

a long time ago (that monument has been there since the year dot")

until one is blue in the face

hacer algo hasta el hartazgo (usually without success)

red herring

sth which distracts you from sth important

be on the safe side

do sth to prevent sth bad happening

not one's scene

not like sth (noisy parties are really not my scene)

settle a score

take revenge

without a shadow of doubt

without any doubt

talk shop

talk about work (my colleagues usually end up talking shop)

if push comes to shove

if a situation becomes really difficult (if push comes to shove and money is really tight, Sam will think about getting a second job)

get on the wrong side of sb

do sth to annoy sb (you don’t want to get on the wrong side of Roy)

a sore point with sb

sth that makes sb angry/embarrassed

spick and span

clean and tidy

enter into the spirit of sth

take part in sth with enthusiasm

in the spotlight

receiving a great deal of public attention

be in a state

be very nervous about sth (she got into a real state before her test)

to be in stitches

unable to stop laughing

in store for one

about to happen in the near future

take sth by storm

causar furor (the new musical took the country by storm)

get into the swing of things

volver a la normalidad / familiarizarse con algo

(fight) like cat and dog

(disagree) violently

(like) a bull in a china shop

behave in an awkward way

make a dog's dinner (of sth)

make a mess of sth

a bear with a sore head

to be irritated/in a bad mood

a different kettle of fish

a totally different situation from the one just mentioned

a dog's life

a difficult, hard life

a fish out of water

sb who feels uncomfortable in unfamiliar surroundings

a red rag to a bull

an action/comment liable to provoke sb

a sitting duck

un blanco fácil

as busy as a bee/a busy bee

very busy

as the crow flies

en línea recta

be in the doghouse

be in trouble

dog eat dog

competencia sin piedad

dog-eared

(of books) with the corners bent and turned down through use (I’m not lending him any more books; they always come back dog-eared)

donkey work

boring, monotonous work

donkey's years

a long time (we’ve been close friends for donkey’s years)

kill two birds with one stone

matar dos pájaros de un tiro

let the cat out of the bag

reveal a secret

like water off a duck's back

las críticas no le causan nada a alguien (his boss’s criticisms were like water off a duck’s back)

make a fool of oneself

make oneself look stupid/embarrassed

make a mountain out of a molehill

hacer una tormenta en un vaso de agua

no room to swing a cat

no hay más espacio (we don’t need any more furniture - there’s no room to swing a cat in here as it is!)

play cat and mouse with sb

aprovecharse de otra persona engañándola/dándole falsas expectativas

put the cat among the pigeons

cause trouble

rain cats and dogs

rain heavily

swim like a fish

swim very well

talk the hind legs off a donkey

talk for a long time, uninterrupted

(get out of) the rat race

the competitive nature of modern urban life

until the cows come home

for a long time (you can ask me until the cows come home but I’ll never agree to your proposal)

a mutton dressed as lamb

dress in a style inappropriate to your age

sour grapes

say unpleasant comments bc of jealousy

sweet tooth

enjoy eating sweet things

get nowhere fast

make no/little progress

pay sb's way

pagar tus propios gastos

white-collar job

un trabajo en blanco

be a fly on the wall

ver/escuchar algo sin que nadie se de cuenta

achilles heel

weakest point of sb's character

wash sb's hands of sb

refuse to be involved with sb

turn tall

turn and run away (the criminal turned tall and fled in the direction of the railway station)

in tandem with

together with, simultaneously (the exercise routine works in tandem with the diet)

go off at a tangent

suddenly change subject or course of action

be on target

make good progress

in bad/poor taste

offensive/insulting

not be sb's cup of tea

not be sth one likes

get one's teeth into sth

meterse de lleno en algo

put sth to the test

poner a prueba algo (pam put her survival skills to the test)

thick and fast

happening quickly and in large numbers (applications for the course are coming in thick and fast)

under one's thumb

under sb's control

toe the line

to obey the rules

keep sb on their toes

keep sb alert

lower the tone of sth

make a place/event seem less respectable

tongue in cheek

not serious, for fun (you never know whether to take Pam seriously or whether her remarks are tongue in cheek)

to down tools

stop working

be on top of the world

be happy

(sth) gets on top of sb

algo supera a alguien (emocionalmente, estrés)

travel light

travel without much luggage

tread water

be in a position where no progress is being made

a trifle

un poco/ligeramente (the pudding was a trifle too sweet for my liking)

a pain in the neck

annoying person/thing

be all fingers and thumbs

ser muy torpe

get cold feet

lose courage to do sth

give sb the cold shoulder

ignore sb

to have a nerve

tener el descaro de

have a sharp tongue

to say hurtful things