Idioms

#

Spanish idiom

Literal translation

Meaning

English counterpart

1

De punta en blanco

On white tip

Well dressed for a special occasion

Dressed to the nines, dressed to kill

2

Dar en el blanco

To throw in the target

To be right, to be assertive

To hit the bullseye

3

Ver todo color de rosa

To see everything in pink color

To be or see everything with excessive optimism

To see through rose-colored glasses

4

Buscar el príncipe azul

To look for the blue prince

To look for the perfect man

To look for Prince Charming

5

Tener sangre azul

To have blue blood

To belong to a royal or very rich family

To be born with a silver spoon in your mouth

6

Encontrar tu media naranja

To find your half orange

To find the perfect or ideal partner

To find your other/better half

7

Ponerse rojo como un tomate

To turn red as a tomato

To feel very embarrassed about something

To turn red as a beetroot

8

No hay color

There is no color

There is no comparison

It’s like apples and oranges

9

Tener la negra

To have the black

To have bad luck

To be jinxed

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Spanish idiom

Literal translation

Meaning

English counterpart

10

Tener vista de lince

To have the eyesight of a lynx

To have an excellent vision

To have an eagle eye

11

Tener memoria de pez

To have the memory of a fish

To have a bad memory

To have a memory of a sieve

12

Ser la oveja negra

To be the black sheep

To be good for nothing

To be the black sheep

13

Ser un gallina

To be a hen

To be a coward

To be a chicken

14

Dar gato por liebre

To give cat for hare

To trick someone, to rip someone off

To take for a ride

15

Estar como una cabra

to be like a goat

to be crazy

To be mad as a hornet, to be crazy as a loon

16

Ser una rata

To be a rat

A treacherous person, a person who cheats or mocks another one

To be a snake in the grass, or a rat

17

Tener más vidas que un gato

To have more lives than a cat

To be a very lucky person

To have more lives than a cat

18

Ser más astuto que un zorro

To be cleverer than a fox

To be cunning and sharp in practical matters

To be sly as a fox

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Spanish idiom

Literal translation

Meaning

English counterpart

19

Ser pan comido

To be eaten bread

To be very easy

To be a piece of cake

20

Ser un bombón

To be a bonbon

To be very good-looking

To be eye candy

21

Ser del año de la pera

To be from the year of the pear

To be very very old

To be from another era

22

Dar la vuelta a la tortilla

To turn the omelet around

To turn the situation around

To turn the tables

23

No importar un pepino/rábano

Not to matter a cucumber/radish

To be irrelevant

Don’t care, couldn’t care less

24

Ser un melón

To be a melon

To be not very smart or intelligent

To be a blockhead

25

Ser la gallina de los huevos de oro

The hen with the golden eggs

To be a source of wealth

To be the goose that lays the golden eggs

26

Estar hasta en la sopa

To be even in the soup

To find the same person anywhere and everywhere you go

To be here, there and everywhere

27

Comer la papa

To eat a potato

To have lunch

To eat (one’s) lunch

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Spanish idiom

Literal translation

Meaning

English counterpart

28

Meter la pata

To put the leg in it

To make a mistake

To put your foot in it

29

No tener pies ni cabeza

Without feet or head

Not to make any sense

Without rhyme or reason

30

No pegar un ojo

Not to strike an eye

Not being able to sleep

Without sleeping a wink

31

Andar con pies de plomo

To walk with lead feet

To be very careful

to walk on eggshells

32

Con la soga al cuello

With the rope around the neck

To be in a situation with a lot of pressure

To be in trouble, or up to one’s neck

33

Costar un ojo de la cara

To cost an eye of the face

Something extremely expensive

To cost a fortune, to cost an arm and a leg

34

Sin pelos en la lengua

Without hair on your tongue

To be straightforward, to be completely honest

To not mince your words

35

Buscar la quinta pata al gato

To look for the fifth leg of the cat

To make something way more complicated than it is

To take the scenic route

36

Estar hasta las narices

To be up to the nose

To be annoyed, to be tired of something

To be sick to death, to be fed up

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Spanish idiom

Literal translation

Meaning

English counterpart

37

Dar en el clavo

To hit on the nail

To be assertive

To be spot on

38

Dormirse en los laureles

To fall asleep in the laurels

To cease to make an effort after achieving success

To rest on your laurels

39

Entre la espada y la pared

Between the sword and the wall

Having to choose between two bad things

Between a rock and a hard place

40

Matar dos pájaros de un tiro

Two birds with one shot

To get two things done at once

To hit two birds with one stone

41

A duras penas

At tough hardship

To barely achieve something

To be hard-pressed

42

Perder los estribos

To lose the stirrup

To get angry

To fly off the handle

43

De buena fe

Of good faith

To do something with good intentions

An act of good faith

44

Faltarle un tornillo

Missing a screw

To be insane

To be nuts, or missing a screw

45

Pasarse de la raya

To cross the line

To do something that can’t be tolerated

To cross the line

46

Salirse con la suya

To get away with

To succeed at getting something through annoying methods

To get away with