Popular Spanish Idioms

This is a good source of information concerning common spanish idioms https://www.fluentu.com/blog/spanish/spanish-idioms/#toc_1. If site link fails however, I have reproduced the essentials here and added an audio option.

Tomar el pelo

Meaning: To pull someone’s leg

“Tomar el pelo” literally means “to take the hair,” and is used when someone is tricking or making fun of someone else, but in a good-natured way. So if a friend tells you he won $10 million, you might say:

“Me estás tomando el pelo.” (You’re pulling my leg.)

Ser pan comido

Meaning: To be a piece of cake

The literal translation of “ser pan comido” is “to be bread eaten,” and it means that something is very easy to do. It’s the English equivalent of saying something is a piece of cake. For example:

“El trabajo es pan comido.” (The job is a piece of cake.)

Estar como una cabra

Meaning: To be a little crazy

“Estar como una cabra” is a commonly used Spanish idiom for when somebody is doing something bizarre or a little out of the ordinary. The literal translation is “to be like a goat,” and the English equivalent is saying someone is a little nuts or crazy:

“Esta noche estás como una cabra.” (Tonight you are a little crazy.)

No tener pelos en la lengua

Meaning: To be straightforward / To tell it like it is

The literal translation of “no tener pelos en la lengua” is “not to have hairs on your tongue.” This Spanish idiom means that someone is a straight shooter and will always speak their mind:

“Mi amigo no tiene pelos en la lengua.” (My friend tells it how it is.)

Tirar la casa por la ventana

Meaning: To spare no expense

“Tirar la casa por la ventana” is literally translated as “to throw the house through the window,” and it means that no expense has been spared or that money is no object:

“Tiré la casa por la ventana cuando compré mi nuevo coche.” (I spared no expense when I bought my new car.)

Quedarse de piedra

Meaning: To be stunned

“Quedarse de piedra” is literally to “stay like a stone,” and it means to be amazed. In other words, you’re so stunned by something that you stay like a stone:

“Me quedé de piedra cuando me dijo la historia.” (I was stunned when he told me the story.) 

Empezar la casa por el tejado

Meaning: To put the cart before the horse

“Empezar la casa por el tejado” is literally “to start the house by the roof,” and it means to put the cart before the horse, or to have things in the wrong order:

“Si empezáramos la construcción sin los fondos, estaríamos empezando la casa por el tejado.” (If we started construction without the funds, we’d be putting the cart before the horse.)

Estar más sano que una pera

Meaning: To be fit as a fiddle

“Estar más sano que una pera” is literally translated as “to be healthier than a pear.” The English equivalent is to be as fit as a fiddle, and it means that someone feels great and is very healthy:

“Mi abuela tiene 85 años, pero está más sana que una pera.” (My grandmother is 85, but she’s as fit as a fiddle.)

Tener un humor de perros

Meaning: To be in a bad mood

“Tenemos un humor de perros” is literally translated as “to have a mood of dogs,” and it means to be in a bad mood:

“Ellos tienen un humor de perros porque no aprobaron los exámenes en la universidad.” (They’re in a bad mood because they didn’t pass their exams at the university.)

Se me hace agua la boca

Meaning: To make one’s mouth water / To be mouthwatering

“Se me hace agua la boca” is a common Spanish idiom translated as “it makes my mouth water,” meaning that an item of food or a meal is so delicious it makes the saliva flow in a person’s mouth:

Se me hace agua la boca solo pensar en la paella.” (It makes my mouth water just thinking about paella.)

Tiene más lana que un borrego

Meaning: To be loaded [with cash]

“Tiene más lana que un borrego” translates as “he has more wool than a lamb,” and it means that a person is loaded with cash: 

“Él pagó la cuenta en el restaurante porque tiene más lana que un borrego”. (He paid the bill in the restaurant because he’s loaded with cash.)

Note: “Oveja” is a noun which is often translated as “sheep”, and “borrego” is a noun which is often translated as “lamb”, “yearling lamb”, “yearling sheep”.

Also: fleecy cloud

Como dice el dicho: borregos en el cielo, charcos en el suelo. As the saying goes: fleecy clouds in the sky, puddles on the ground.

Also: white horses (crests of waves)

El mar está un poco agitado, con olas grandes que forman borregos. The sea is a little choppy, with big waves forming white horses.

Echar agua al mar

Meaning: To do something pointless / To put a drop in the bucket

“Echar agua al mar” is literally translated as “to throw water into the sea,” a Spanish idiom used in some Spanish-speaking regions to mean that something is pointless:

“Tratar de convencerla es como echar agua al mar. Ella nunca va a cambiar.” (Trying to convince her is pointless. She’s never going to change.)

DELE