Nationality/Language-Related Idioms and Proverbs

Nationality/Language-Related Idioms and Proverbs

Good afternoon everyone! How are you doing?

I am back again to teach you some more idioms and proverbs! This time using languages or nationalities in them! As you know, I am going to explain them, provide you with examples and the translation into Spanish if there is one; if not, I will explain when to use them.

1. Go Dutch

If you go to a restaurant with friends and everyone pays for their own meal and drinks, you go Dutch. It is what Dutch people usually do, even when dating. E.g. I did not want my date to pay for everything, so I suggested going Dutch. In Spanish we would probably say "que cada uno se pague lo suyo."

"Paying the Bill" by Bill Smith CC BY 2.0

2. Indian summer

When it is early autumn and you get a period of dry, warm weather, which is unusual for the time of the year, you can say: We are having an Indian summer. In Spanish we would call it " veranillo de San Martín/Miguel."

Indian summer by Larisa Koshkina CC0 1.0 Public Domain

3. Pardon my French

When you are going to swear in English, you normally say pardon my French to apologise in advance  for doing so. For example, imagine you are talking to a friend and say: Oh! Peter is a nasty bast**d if you'll pardon my French. In Spanish we say "con perdón de la expresión."

"Pardon My French" by Phillip Pessar CC BY 2.0

4. It's all Greek to me

You say it's all Greek to me when you have not got a clue about what the person is talking about. Imagine you classmate is trying to explain to you a chemistry problem you need to solve, but you do not get it. You could say: I still don't get it. It's all Greek to me. In Spanish: "me suena a chino.

"

Emotional by Cristina Popa CC0 1.0 Public Domain

5. When in Rome (do as the Romans do)

This proverb means that when you go to a new place, you should adapt to the customs there. For instance, imagine you go to England to visit some friends. You are used to having dinner at 10 pm, whereas there they normally do it at 6 pm. You start complaining about how early it is to eat, and your partner says: "when in Rome do as the the Romans do." In Spanish there is an equivalent, which is "donde fueres haz lo que vieres."


"Piazza del Popolo, Roma" by Flavio CDC CC BY-NC-SA 2.0



That's all Folks! I hope you found my post useful and if you have any questions or suggestions, please write a comment below.

Have a good one!

Food Idioms and Proverbs

Food Idioms and Proverbs

Hi guys! How are you getting on?

In this post I am going to teach you new food idioms and proverbs. Are you ready? As always, I am going to explain what they mean, give you examples and the equivalent in Spanish. If there is no equivalent, then I will tell you when to use them. To illustrate the ideas, I am going to use some pictures too. Those who are visual learners will find it easier to remember them.

1. Eat humble pie

You need to eat humble pie when you know you made mistakes or you were wrong and must admit it.  In Spanish we say "admitir los errores/admitir que te has equivocado." For example: John accused me of taking his calculator. He found it in the end, so he had to eat humble pie and say sorry.


"Humble Pie Pastry Type" by Danielle Evans CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

2. Have one's own cake and eat it too

If you want to have a cake, you cannot eat it, otherwise, you will not have it anymore. However, you want to eat it too because you know it is delicious! But you cannot have both things, you cannot have the best of both worlds, that is, if you want to have the good part of something, you need to deal with the part you do not like as much. For instance: Mary was offered her dream job, but if she accepts, she will need to go abroad very often and will not be able to spend much time with her baby, so she does not know what to do. I told her that she cannot have her own cake and eat it too. In Spanish we say "no puedes tener un pescado gordo y que pese poco."


Birthday Cake by George Hodan CC0 1.0 Public Domain

3. We never miss water until the well runs dry

I am sure most of us have ever had this feeling. Can you remember any time where you lost a good friend or a partner you did not appreciate? How did you feel then? Did your mum tell you "uno no sabe lo que tiene hasta que lo pierde?" That is the meaning of this proverb. An example of this is: I never realized what a good boyfriend Sam was until we broke up.


Wooden Wishing Well by Karen Arnold CC0 1.0 Public Domain

4. Don't put all your eggs in one basket

Do not put all your hopes in one plan. Always have a plan B just in case, because if all the eggs you have are in the same basket, if the basket breaks, you have lost everything. It is too risky! In Spanish: we say "jugárselo todo a una carta." E.g. I invested my savings in different businesses, as I do not want to put all my eggs in one basket.



Fresh Brown Eggs In Basket by Sheila Brown CC0 1.0 Public Domain

5. An apple a day keeps the doctor away

This proverb means that if we eat healthily, we will not need to go to the doctor's very often, as we will be healthy. We do not have an equivalent in Spanish, but our parents and grandparents have always told us to eat vegetables, fruit and healthy food in general to be strong and healthy, which is basically the same idea. For example: John says: I feel unwell, I think I ate too much hamburger. His mother answers: You need to cut down on junk food and start eating properly. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.


"Red" by Asif A. Ali CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

I hope you have enjoyed folks! I will post again soon. If you have any questions or would like to add some more food idioms and proverbs to the list, please feel free to write a comment!

Ta ta!

Body Idioms and Proverbs

Body Idioms and Proverbs

Hi folks!

In this post I am going to show you some body idioms and proverbs you can use on a daily basis. I am going to give you the equivalent in Spanish and when there is none, I will explain what they mean and when you should use them as well as giving you an example. 

1. Off the top of my head 
We use this idiom when someone asks us something and at that moment without thinking about it too much, without preparation or investigation, we cannot remember or we do not know. For instance, you friend asks you: "What is the longest river in Spain?" and you answer: "I do not know off the top of my head, but I will look it up." In Spanish we say "a bote pronto, sin pararse mucho a pensar."


"My head met my Gillet Sensor..." by Todd Hiestand CC BY-NC 2.0

2. Have a sweet tooth
You have a sweet tooth if you love eating sweets and chocolate. In Spanish we say "ser goloso/a." For example, your colleague asks you: "Would you like some chocolate?" and you answer: "Oh my God! Yes, please! I have a sweet tooth, I can never say no to chocolate!"


Tooth Cartoon Illustration Cute by Karen Arnold CC0 1.0 Public Domain

3. Wash one's hands of something
Have you ever thought you did not want to be involved with a difficult situation anymore? Have you ever said I did everything I could, I am sorry, but I no longer want to hear about it? This is what this idiom means, you refuse to accept responsibility for something. There is an equivalent in Spanish, which is "lavarse las manos" and does not mean to open the tap and wash your hands, but to stop your involvement with something.  An example of this is "the Prime Minister washed his hands of the corruption scandal."


Wash Your Hands by George Hodan CC0 1.0 Public Domain

4. By the skin of one's teeth
If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you nearly fail to do it. In Spanish we would say "por los pelos." For instance, you arrive at the airport late, you almost miss your flight and tell your mum: "Oh Gosh, mum, I caught the plane by the skin of my teeth!"


Alpaca Chewing by Lilla Frerichs CC0 1.0 Public Domain

5. Out of sight, out of mind
This proverb means that you will soon forget what you cannot see, e.g. "we know there are millions of children starving to death in Africa, but out of sight, out of mind." In Spanish we say "ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente."


Decision Making by Mohamed Hassan CC0 1.0 Public Domain

6. Absence makes the heart grow fonder
"La ausencia es al amor lo que al fuego el aire: que apaga el pequeño y aviva el grande." With this poetic proverb I am going to finish my post. This saying is normally used when couples are apart from each other, perhaps in a long distance relationship. It is a litmus test, that is, if their feelings are strong, they are going to grow stronger when they are not together, but if they are not, their love will die. 


Love of Nature by LJW Devon CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

I hope you have enjoyed learning new body idioms and proverbs! If you know more, please feel free to leave a comment and add more to the list! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write a comment too.

Have a lovely week and see you soon!

Animal Idioms and Proverbs

Animal Idioms and Proverbs

Hi everyone!

In this post I am going to show you some animal idioms and proverbs you can use in your everyday life. It is worth remembering that most of the time the meaning has nothing to do with the words we see in the sentence. Those with no equivalent in Spanish will be explained for you to know when and how to use them. Are you ready?

1. The hair of the dog (that bit you)

Have you ever had one too many and were hungover the following day? Have you ever been told that you should have an alcoholic drink to cure the effects of drinking too much the previous night? Some people say that if you drink a beer, your hangover will disappear. This is what the hair of the dog means, that is, having an alcoholic drink the day after a night out to remedy the hangover. For example, imagine you partied hard last night and today you have got a strong hangover. You tell your friends how you feel and they say: "You know what to do to feel better, don't you? The hair of the dog!

Beer Bar Regular Patrons Dogs by K. K. J. Hultman CC0 1.0 Public Domain

2. Let the cat out of the bag

Have you ever revealed a secret unintentionally? That is what this idiom means. In Spanish we would probably say "se me ha escapado" after realizing we have revealed a secret by mistake. Imagine you did it and told your friend: "Emma, I'm so sorry! I let the cat out of the bag! Now Mary knows what you did."

"Surprise!" by Ana Luiza Oliveira CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

3. Hold your horses

We use this idiom to tell somebody to wait and not to be impatient. Knowing when to use this one is a piece of cake for you, since we have an equivalent in Spanish: "aguanta caballos."

Wild Horses Oil Painting by Tanya Hall CC0 1.0 Public Domain

4. Take the bull by the horns

This proverb means to deal with a difficult situation with determination. We are familiar with this saying too, because we also use it in Spanish. Have your parents ever told you: "coge el toro por los cuernos"? Does it ring a bell? I am sure it does!

Charging Bull Statue by Petr Kratochvil CC0 1.0 Public Domain

5. The early bird catches the worm

Last but not least, how many times has your granny told you "a quien madruga, Dios le ayuda"? I am sure more than once! English speakers say the early bird catches the worm that literally means "el pájaro madrugador se lleva el gusano." The idea is the same in both. In other words, if you do something straightaway, you are active and alert, you will have more chances to succeed.

"Robin bird eating meal worms" by C. Watts CC BY 2.0

I hope you have enjoyed! I will post more idioms and proverbs soon. Are you looking forward to it? 

If you have any questions, please leave a comment.

Cheerio!

What are Idioms and Proverbs?

What are Idioms and Proverbs?

All of us know some proverbs in Spanish or we are at least used to hearing our parents or grandparents using them. Personally, I love using them both in English and Spanish. This is why I would like to share some of them with you on my blog, as I believe that they enrich our lexicon a great deal. Refranes in English are called Proverbs or Sayings. According to Cambridge Dictionary, "a proverb is usually known by many people, stating something commonly experienced or giving advice." Here I give you an example in both languages so that you have a clear idea of what it is:

ES: No vendas la piel del oso antes de cazarlo.

EN: Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

When we want to give a piece of advice to somebody who is always making plans ahead without knowing whether they are going to be able to carry them out or not, we do not tell them in English not to sell the bear's fur before it is hunted, but not to count their chickens before they hatch, which means no cuentes los polluelos antes de que salgan del cascarón.

However, when I tell my students that Idiom means modismo, they ask me: "what is that?"  For this reason, I am going to give you several definitions of the word from different dictionaries which can be found online:

• Oxford Learner's Dictionary: "a group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words."
• Cambridge Dictionary: "a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular  meaning that is different from the meanings of each word on its own." 
• Lexico Dictionary: "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words."
• Collins Dictionary: "an idiom is a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one they would have if you took the meaning of each word separately." 

In other words, an idiom is an idiomatic expression. Several words are put together with a fixed structure and have a completely different meaning that they would have individually.  For example:

ES: Costar un ojo de la cara. 

EN: Cost an arm and a leg.

When something is extremely expensive, in Spanish, it costs an eye; in English, it costs an arm and a leg. 

Before I start sharing more Idioms and Proverbs with you, I wanted to clarify the concepts, especially that of Idiom. I hope this post has helped and has been useful as an introduction to the type of content you are going to find on this blog. Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to write a comment.

See you soon!

Bibliography:

1. Cambridge University Press (2019). Proverb. Retrieved from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/proverb
2. Oxford Learner´s Dictionary. (2019). Idiom. Retrieved from: https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/idiom?q=idiom
3. Cambridge University Press (2019). Idiom. Retrieved from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/idiom 
4. Lexico Dictionary. (2019). Idiom. Retrieved from: https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/idiom 
5. Collins (2019). Idiom. Retrieved from: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/idiom