150 Fun and Useful English Idioms for Spanish Speaking Professionals

Nickel (US and Canada: 5 cent coin—made from the material, nickel) and Dimed (dime- US and Canada – 10 cent coin) – Unfairly charging someone for small things and services that should be free.

Bone to pick – Having an issue or problem you need to discuss with someone.

(A trip down) memory lane (a small path, senderito) – Talk about memories from the past

Bury (enterrar) the hatchet (small axe, hachita)—make peace with someone after a long argument (discusión) ?

A pity (lastimar) party – When a person feels sorry for him or herself (su mismo) and then talks about it a lot

Pinch (pellizcar) hitter – Substitute for someone. particularly in an emergency (from baseball)

??????? Do something in a pinch – hacer algo en un apuro

Two peas (guisantes) in a pod (vaina)– Two people who are similar and get together well together.

Pet peeve (una queja) -- A small thing that really annoys you that someone else does repeatedly.

To be game – Willing to do something/participate.

Two faced – Say different things to different people to get their approval.

Like oil and water -- Two people or things that don’t get along well together (llevarse or caerse bien)

(10)

Art imitates life – a work of art mirrors real life in some way.

Bite the hand that feeds you – Criticize or hurt someone you depend on (do something against your own interest).

Mixed feelings – conflicting emotions about something or someone.

That’s how I roll – describing your behavior or things you like to do

All thumbs (dedos pulgares) – a bit clumsy (torpe)

Pick up the slack (la parte floja (originalmente se refierió a un cuerdo en un barco) – To do something that someone else should be doing but isn’t doing.

??????? Slack off -- aflojar

Third times a charm (un encanto, something that brings good luck) – finally succeed at something on the third try (used to encourage, animar, someone to continue doing something)

Get on board (embarcar un modo de transporte) – Agree easily to do a new activity or support a new idea/policy (regla)

Forgive and forget -- Stop being angry with someone for something they did in the past.

On the tip of the tongue – Trying to remember a thing or a word but can’t remember it (la punta de la lengua)

??????? Intern – el/la pasante

To poison the well (poza) – Try to negatively influence how someone feels about something or someone

To see the light – To finally realize something or understand something you didn’t understand before.

(20)

Make one’s head swim – Something that confuses you with too much information.

Get a shiner – A black eye that you get when something hits your eyes hard.

Sticker (calcomanía) shock – Surprise or disappointment someone feels when they find out the price of something they want.

Get to the bottom of something – Try to resolve a mystery or a difficult problem.

A couch potato – Someone who spends a lot of time sitting and watching TV (implies someone is lazy).

Good riddance – Used to express relief at being free from a difficult situation or person

What goes around comes around – Bad actions produce bad consequences later.

A cliffhanger (cliff: acantilado)—A part of a book, show, or movie that leaves people in suspension. Cliffhangers keep people watching to find out what happened.

Grow like a weed (mala hierba, slang por tabaco o marijuana) – Something or someone that grows very quickly.

To roll out the red carpet – Welcome someone is a special and memorable way.

Have a green thumb (dedo pulgar)– Have a special ability to keep a plant healthy.

(30)

A Hollywood ending – A perfect or happy ending to something (may seem so good that it feels like it didn’t really happen)

A wet blanket (cobija) – Someone who says or does things that keep people from enjoying something.

Home (hogar) is where the heart is – You can call anywhere home if you feel connected to the place emotionally.

Knock yourself out – To go ahead and do something that excites you but that the other person doesn’t really care about doing.

Burn a hole in your pocket – the desire to spend money as soon as you get it (rather than saving it).

Across the board (from horseracing) – Something that affects everyone in the same way.

Never live something down – People will not forget that you made a big mistake.

Cookie cutter – Describe something ordinary or predictable and not very special.

??????? Housewarming – una fiesta para estrenar una casa nueva

Go from the frying pan and into the fire – Left a bad situation only to find yourself in an even worse situation.

A change of heart –Change your opinion about something.

(40)

(Leave someone) high and dry – to leave someone in a difficult position (abandon someone or some task)

Start from scratch – Start from the beginning (rather than fixing something).? Implies that something has so many problems that it is easier to redo something.?

??????? Make something from scratch – hacer algo de cero.

Tunnel vision – Have a very narrow view of something and ignore other things that are just as important or more important.

Talk until you are blue in the face -- Spend a lot of time talking about something but nothing ever changes.

Set in stone – Plans that are difficult or impossible to change.

(50)

Wishful thinking – Think or act like your wish is going to come true even though the real chances of getting your wish are very small.

Out with the old and in with the new – Leave behind old ideas, relationships, and things.? (Often said at the start of the New Year).

Spruce (la picea (tipo de árbol), pulcro) something up – To make someone or something more appealing or attractive.

A bag of tricks – a set of activities or things that you use to achieve your goals.

Throw caution to the wind – Stop being careful about something, take a brave step to do something that could result in failure.

Whole nine yards (yardas) – Everything (includes many luxuries/features), doing everything you can do get something done.

Tie up loose ends – Do all those little things that come with finish a big project.

Touch and go – A serious situation with an uncertain outcome (resultado/desenlace).

(It’s a real) doozy – Something that is enormous.

Goose (ganso) bumps (bache o bulto) – escalofríos.? Bumps you get on your skin when you are extremely afraid or cold.

Wild card – Someone or something that is unpredictable and may cause a problem.?

(60)

Thick as thieves – Very close and loyal friends.

Run of the mill (Molino – windmill; mill – fábrica) – ordinary, mass produced (fábrica en seria)

Pound the pavement – Looking hard for something, particularly employment.

Point fingers (at someone) – Accuse someone of doing something bad, but small.

Drinking from a fire hose (manguera) – Feel overwhelmed (abrumador) by something.

Double down – Strengthen your position even if it may cause negative repercussions (from poker)

Bells and whistles (silbo) – Special, non essential, features added to a product to make it more appealing (atractivo, conmovedor)

Let off steam (vapor) – Release tension by some means

Big shoes to fill – Feel pressure to do as well at a task as their predecessor (often used in workplaces)

Swan song – The last performance or piece of work for a celebrity or writer (usually before retirement).

(70)

Sink (hundir) or swim – Describes a situation that you either succeed or fail without much guidance (dirección)

Staycation – A vacation spent visiting places near your home.

Proud as a peacock (pavo real) – Liking to show off (presumir) your accomplishments in front of other people

(Not) in the cards – Likely (unlikely) to happen

Happy as a clam -- Extremely happy

Drop in the ocean – Something is so small that it is unlikely that it will make a difference.

Bury your head in the sand (arena) – Hide from a problem or unpleasant reality but at some point you will have to face the problem

A mixed bag – A range of different people or things, something that has both good and bad characteristics.

Ahead of the curve – One of the first people to do something before it becomes popular with more people.

Child’s play – A simple, easy task that doesn’t require much thought to do.

On the fence (valla) – To be undecided or picked a side in an issue (fencesitter = someone who can’t make decisions easily)

(80)

A thorn (espina) in my side – Anything or anyone who cause you problems or annoyance (molestía)

A big fish in a small pond – Describes someone who feels? important within a small group of people but not in a large crowd.

Talk out of both sides of your mouth – Give different advice or solutions to problems to different people (usually to make people happy)

Dollars to donuts -- Sure something will happen.

Earn your stripes (rayas, franjas, bandas) – Prove you deserve to be respected by other people in a group (from the military)

Still waters run deep – Describes someone who is shy and quiet but also may be very intelligent and interesting to talk to.

Strike (pegar fuertamente, huelga) at the heart of something – Attack the central part of an issue or problem

Can’t see the forest for the trees – Unable to understand a situation fully because you spend too much time looking at the details

Follow in someone’s footsteps (huellas de pie)– Do something that someone else does really well. (Use someone as a model)

(90)

Icing (guinda) on the cake – Describes something that makes a good situation even better.

Come rain or shine – Something will happen no matter what, often used when you are promising someone that you’ll do something.

Call it a day – Finish doing something for now.

Lefty loosy, righty tighty – Reminds us how to tighten a screw (un tornillo). Loosy (suelto), tighty (aprieta)

Give someone the shirt off your back – Someone who is very generous and kind even if it may cause them damage.

Loud enough to wake the dead – Extremely noisy/loud

Dark horse – Someone or something that is not expected to win, but sometimes does.

Willy-nilly – Something we do quickly and carelessly without much thought ahead of time

Desperate times call for desperate measures – In difficult times you may do something you wouldn’t necessarily do when things are going well.

Firing on all cylinders – Something is performing really well (not firing on all cylinder – something is not working well)

(100)

Biting (morder) off more than you can chew (masticar) – Try to do too much at one time.? Usually cause discomfort or problems

Take someone under your wings -? Help, guide, and protect someone who is new to doing a task that you know how to do well.

Go overboard (por la borda) -- ???Do or buy too much because you are overly enthusiastic.

Haste (precipitación) makes waste -- Doing something too quickly can lead to mistakes or needing to do more work later.

Backhanded compliment --? ?Something that seem like a compliment but is really an insult

To be swamped (inundado, hundido; noun- swamp- pant+ano)—have too much to do, producing a feeling like you’ll never finish your work.

Pick your battles -- Don’t fight over everything, only fight over important things, let the small things go.

Take the world by storm (tormenta)—Be very successful and well known (conocido) for something

Beach bum (vagabundo)- ?A person who only wants to spend time at the beach and doesn’t really want to get some accomplished ()

Drive someone nuts (nueces) – Make someone feel a bit crazy, usually used for small nuisances (molestías)

(110)

Kill two birds with one stone – Solve two problems at the same time (matar dos pajaros con el mismo tiro).

Nothing to write home about – Something isn’t that special or worthy (vale) of praise (elogios).

Dough (testo) – money (can also use bread, bacon, and cheese for money)—similar to “lana” in Spanish

Fan the flames – make a situation more serious or problematic.

Keep me in the loop (bucle, lazo) – Keep someone informed about something that is happening-

Get out of town – To be really surprised by something that someone says (similar to “no way” or “no kidding”)

To rain on someone′s parade – to say or do something that ruins someone else′s good time or happiness.

Fight tooth and nail – Try your best to win, don’t give up.

In a nutshell – Explain something briefly and simply in a short time.

Have a gut (agalla) feeling – Know intuitively that something is correct.

(120)

Tone deaf – Someone who doesn’t know or understand how other people think or feel.

Talk is cheap – Actions speak louder than words.

Wishy-washy – Someone who doesn’t give clear opinions about something or someone who keeps changing their opinion.

A lost cause – Something that is certain to fail. Not worth (no vale) spending time or effort to fix.

Sharp (or smart) cookie – Describes someone who is intelligent and a quick learner (ser listo).

A loose cannon (ca?om, carambola) – Someone who can’t be easily controlled.? No one can predict what a loose cannon will do or say.? Can cause unexpected problems.

Tie the knot – get married

Take a stab (pu?elado, estocada) at something – Try to do something new or make a guess about the solution to a problem.

Hit it out of the park – Be a great success at something.

Wild goose chase (persecución) – Search for something that is impossible or look for something for a long time without finding it.

(130)

Two wrongs do not make a right – When someone does something bad in response to someone else doing something bad, it usually just makes everything worse.

By the skin of my teeth – Narrowly or barely (apenas o casi) escape something bad.

Turn the tables – Reverse a situation to gain an advantage (aprovechar de una situación)

Bucket (cubo) list – Things you want to do before you die.?

??????? Kick the bucket -- to die.

Don’t hold your breath – Something we say when we really think something probably won’t happen.

Burn a bridge – Cut off contact with people or opportunities that might help you at a later time.

A wakeup call (una llamada para asegurar que estás despierto)– Something that makes you realize that you are going to have something bad happen because of your actions

To have butterflies (in your stomach) – to feel nervous or excited about a big event in your life (a presentation, interview, date, etc.)

Up in the air – Something that is undecided or has been resolved yet.

??????? Get on it – manos a la obra

Get a grip (agarre, apretón)—to make an effort to control your emotions, or to better understand a situation.

(140)

Elephant in the room – A problem that no one wants to discuss but needs to discuss.

Nail (u?as) biter – A very close sports match.

A bitter pill to swallow (tragar) – An unpleasant fact that is difficult to accept.

Fifth (or third) wheel – Feel like an unimportant part of a group (usually a single person among one or two couples).

Don’t count your chickens until they hatch (eclosionar, verb; noun-escotilla) – Don’t count on something before it actually happens.

Over the hill – Someone or something is old and doesn’t have much value anymore.

Out of the woods (bosque) – Someone is no longer in danger (often in danger of dying)

Skating on thin ice – Doing something that could get you in trouble.

The tip of the iceberg (tempáno)– A small part of a much larger issue or problem

Shoot the breeze – to chat informally about things that aren’t very important.

(150)

Straight from the horse’s mouth – Get information directly from the person involved rather than via rumors.

Put something on hold – Delay something until later.

??????? Put someone on hold – Ask someone to wait a few minutes before talking to them on the phone.

Back to square one – Start over from the beginning (from a board game).

Food for thought – Make someone think carefully about something.

Fly by the seat of one’s pants – Do not have a clear plan how to do something, use your instincts to figure out how to resolve a problem.

(Another one) bites the dust -- something is no longer able to repaired (also means that someone died)

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree – Two people in a family resemble each other.

Poker face – Never show your emotions.? Don’t show any reaction to a situation.

(160)

Up the creek (shit’s creek) without a paddle – Be in a really bad situation that can’t be resolved easily.

Blow off steam – Do something to get rid of a bad feeling, relax

Know the ropes – Be very familiar with something.

Keep your eyes peeled (pelado) – Watch carefully for something or someone. ?

Fair weather friend – Someone who is only a friend when they need something but is not available to help you when you have problems.

Call someone’s bluff (el bluff, acantilado, o farol) – From poker, do something to someone you think is lying to force them into telling the truth.

Clear the air – Make issues and concerns public in order to resolve the problem.

Back seat driver – someone who constantly complains about or gives advice to someone driving a car

Barking (ladrando) up the wrong tree — Put attention on the wrong thing.

Apple of one′s eye – A person or thing that is loved by another person

(170)

As the crow flies – The distance between two places by air, doesn’t include any impediments or natural features that make a trip longer.

Get on my nerves – Something that really bothers or annoys (molestar) someone.

Piece of cake (It′s a cakewalk)– Something that is really easy to do.

Miss the point – Don’t understand something.

It’s up to you – It’s your decision.

Go with the flow (corriente, fluir) – Easily fit in to or agree to a certain situation (opposite: go against the flow)

Burned out – very tired, lose interest in something repetitive.

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