Spanish idiomatic expressions: crazy comparisons

I really wanted to write this article!

Today we are going to talk about one of the things that I like the most: idiomatic expressions in Spanish.

Do you want to know what they are?

Well, don't leave the screen because I'm sure that with this post you will learn the most common ones.😄

What are idiomatic expressions?

The idiomatic expressions, also called idioms in Spanish or Spanish idioms, are made up of several words that together create a new meaning.

This meaning is often not easy to guess, making it a very interesting vocabulary to learn. 

Most of these spanish expressions They are colloquial. The Spanish We use them a lot in our daily lives orally.

Today we are going to see four types of idiomatic expressions:

• Idiomatic expressions about food.
• Idiomatic expressions with animals.
• Idiomatic expressions with parts of the body.
• Idiomatic expressions with colors.

They are all popular phrases, I hope you like them!

Idioms about food

We start with the food. We have a lot of Spanish phrases on this topic. 😋

Be a piece of bread

¿you are very good person?

For sure yes. So we can say that you are a piece of bread.

Because?

Because the bread is very good. As simple as that.

be like a cheese

Do you like cheese?

We Spaniards love it. We consider it as a delicacy.

Therefore, when we see someone who is very physically attractive we say that it's like cheese.

Resembling a chestnut like an egg

How is an egg similar to a chestnut?

Not at all, right?

When two things have no similarity We use this idiomatic expression: resemble a chestnut like an egg. 

So that you understand it better. Let's see these and other idiomatic expressions with examples.

Example: 

• Pedro and Maite are brothers, but they look like an egg to a chestnut. That is, they are very different.

be a chorizo 

To the thief!

When someone steals something we can call them a thief or, in a more colloquial and fun way, chorizo.

Example:

• He stole my wallet. It's a chorizo!

give someone pumpkins 

Have you ever been rejected by a person you really liked?

In this case we say that they have given us pumpkins.

How bad it is when this happens, right? 😪

Example:

• José declared his love for Lucía, but she gave him grief because she is not in love with him.

Order pears from the elm

Pears grow on pear trees, not elm trees.

They are totally different trees.

So, that's what happens when We ask for things that are impossible to obtain or try to do something that is very difficult to obtain..

Example: 

• If you don't eat healthy or play sports, you can't be thinner. Don't ask the elm for pears.

be in a bad mood

There are people who, when they get angry she gets very serious and grumbles.

There are even some people who are charming, but when they get angry it changes their character completely, in a negative way.

We say that they are in a bad mood.

When this happens, it is better to leave these people alone and not bother them, as we may receive a less than pleasant response.

Eat the coconut 

We say that someone eats the coconut when thinks too much about something, finds it difficult to make decisions, reflects a lot… 

That is, people who spend a lot of time in their mental world eat the coconut.

Do you eat coconut a lot?

Discover the cake 

When a secret had been hidden for a long time and finally it is revealed to the public, we say that the cake is revealed.

Example:

• We already know why Alfonso finally didn't want to get married... He had a lover! The cake of this whole soap opera has already been discovered.

be a hottie

be a hottie is another idiomatic expression that means that a person is very pretty or attractive. 

We have many expressions for this. 🤣

Idiomatic expressions with animals 

The animals They are also very recurring to create fun expressions in spanish.

Do you want to see some examples of idiomatic expressions with animals?

Of course!

Bored like an oyster 

What do they do the oysters?

They are normally stuck on the rocks on the seashore.

How boring, right?

Well when you are very bored, you can say that.

Example: 

• When I wait in line at the supermarket, I get bored out of my mind.

pay the price

Unfortunately, sometimes life isn't fair and They point us out as guilty of something we have not done.

In that case we pay the price.

Example: 

• Although Lara was not to blame, she was the one who paid the price and received the anger from her boss.

be a lynx

There are people who are very astute and observant. They keep all the details and they learn everything easily.

They are lynxes. 😼

Do you have any friends like that?

Or do you yourself consider yourself to be a lynx?

Of course it is something very positive.

Don't see three on a donkey

Don't see three on a donkey it means that a person has trouble seeing well.

The origin of this idiomatic expression dates back to rural Spain at the beginning of the 20th century. 

Because most people in the villages in those years were illiterate, medical vision tests were done with images, not letters.

One of the images was a donkey with three boys on top, hence his expression.

Be a dead fly

be a little fly dead refers to people who they seem very innocent and harmless, but deep down They hide a manipulative and mischievous character.

Be a lapdog

Do you know the expression sucking up to someone?

Well be someone's lapdog It's very similar.

It is said when a person excessively flatters another person and with too much repetition. 

Normally, whoever does this is because they are looking for an interest in that person.

be like a goat

be like a goat it means that someone is crazy or that he does things that are not normal.

Example:

• Javier likes to make anonymous calls to people he doesn't know and play pranks on them. He's like a goat.

Be a dog or act like a dog

If one person is very lazy and she loves lying on the couch watching nonsense on her cell phone, we say that it's a dog or what He likes to play the dog.

That is to say, he is a very lazy person and has a hard time doing things that require effort.

be very cute

We all know someone who it's very cute.

Are those people who are very pretty because of the way they are or because of their physical appearance.

They are people who always make you want to hug. 🐼

Example: 

• Julia has a very sweet voice and speaks like a child. She's very cute.

Idiomatic expressions with body parts

Do body parts also have idiomatic expressions?

That's right, let's see some of these expressions and their meaning.

lend a hand

Lending a hand means help someone.

Have you ever you have helped a friend to make the move?

Or have you chauffeured a family member because they didn't have a car?

Or have you helped a coworker finish their work?

Surely you have done some of these generous actions at some point.

So we say that you have lent a hand.

Not being a fool at all

Not having a hair of fool is said of a very smart person or savvy.

He is a person who has a lot of life experience and you can't fool him or manipulate.

In an exaggerated way we say that not even a single hair on your body would be fooled. 😏

Biting your tongue

Tell me if it has happened to you:

You are at a gathering of friends and someone is saying something that you think is incorrect or that you do not agree with.

You are about to start an argument but you think it is better to have the meeting in peace and that is why you do not say your opinion. 

You don't say anything, you bite your tongue because you know that if you say that comment you can create an uncomfortable situation and sometimes it's not worth it.

Work side by side

When you work alongside someone it is said work side by side.

Example: 

• Julio and Raquel design all the products together and they do very well. Without a doubt, they know how to work side by side.

Stand up with your left foot

Have you ever had days when everything goes wrong?

Those days of authentic bad luck from when you get up in the morning until you go to bed at night.

In those days we say that You have gotten up on the wrong foot.

Not having two brains 

Can you imagine a person with a forehead so small that you couldn't even put two fingers on it?

It would be super strange, right?

It would seem that this person had almost no brain and was not very smart.

When we say that someone doesn't have two brains means that it is a not intelligent person. 

Or, as we say informally, a slightly short person.

Be meat and nail

Two people who are inseparable and understood to perfection they are nail and flesh.

Example:

• I love the complicity between Pepe and Lola. Just by looking at each other you understand each other. It shows that they are nail and flesh.

go head first

There are times when we are very stressed with work, studies or other tasks.

We see that we don't have enough time to do everything we need do. That's when let's go headlong.

It is a very overwhelming and unpleasant feeling.

Example: 

• Since I started working in this company I have been in a tizzy because every day they ask me for new tasks that I don't have time to finish.

Talk behind your back

Talk behind your back of someone is a deplorable action that must be avoided.

It is criticize someone without them being present and cannot defend itself.

Very badly!

Cost an arm and a leg

Have you ever bought something very expensive?

Too expensive?

So you can say that that thing is so expensive that you It has cost an arm and a leg. 👀

When something costs a lot of money, we use this expression. Sometimes we change the organ of the body and say that costs a kidney.

Idiomatic expressions with colors

And we come to today's latest popular expressions: expressions with colors.

Do you want to know some examples of idiomatic expressions in Spanish in this topic?

Let's get to it!

turn red

There are people who when they feel ashamed or shy They turn red because the blood concentrates in the face.

That's why we literally say turn red or in a funnier way turn like a tomato. 🍅

Be the red lantern

We continue with the color red. 

Be the red lantern It's a little sad because it means that you are the person who occupiesthe last position in something, usually in a sports competition.

The origin of this expression comes from the red lights that are usually in the last car of the trains.

spend the night in white

Sometimes we are so worried that our mind can't stop thinking and we can't sleep.

spend the night in white means spend the night without sleeping.

I hope this doesn't happen to you often.

Being broke

I also don't want you to be broke.

Being broke means having hardly any money or savings.

be prince charming

In almost every little princess story there is a handsome and strong prince who saves the damsel in distress and marries her.

that perfect man is prince charming.

Have you found it yet?

If so, how lucky you are!

Be blue blood

A person is said to be blue blood when his or her family belongs to royalty.

And why blue blood?

Because in ancient times white skin was associated with a luxurious and venerable life, since it was ordinary citizens who worked in the sun and turned tan.

When you have white skin, the blue veins are more noticeable. Hence the name blue blood.

turn purple

Turning purple means eating a lot. 

In Spain we all wear purple at Christmas lunches and dinners, or at weddings.

We love to eat and drink.

What are we going to do to him? 😋

be green in something

If we start working in a new place, we will surely be green in our tasks.

You're green on something whenYou lack experience in what you do and that is why you are going to make mistakes.

But it's normal, it's part of learning to be green at first.

Nobody is born knowing.

be like a rose

Normally we associate the color pink with good and happy things.

be like a rose It is actually a positive thing. It means being healthy and energetic.

Example:

• Juan works 9 hours a day, then he goes to the gym to train and at night he studies for the exams. And yet, she is like a rose and wants to meet up for a drink and talk. It's incredible.

See life in pink

The people who see life in pink is optimistic and generally cheerful. 

These people always see the opportunities in life and the good side of things.

Activities to practice

This has been our list of idiomatic expressions in Spanish.

I hope you liked them.

Take notes because really, they are typical phrases from Spain and we use them a lot. If you manage to learn some and use them, your Spanish will sound much more natural. 😉

Of course, these are not the only ones. There are many more.

If you want to know more expressions and become an expert in the Spanish language, come to our face-to-face Spanish courses or our online Spanish courses. 

Now let's practice with some idioms activity.

Activity 1

Write the names of the idiomatic expressions under each image.

You can see the solutions below or on the light bulb icon in the exercise itself.

Solutions:

1. be like cheese
2. bored as an oyster
3. eat the coconut
4. don't see three on a donkey
5. be a lapdog
6. pay the price
7. not having two brains
8. lend a hand
9. bite your tongue
10. be a chorizo
11. go headlong
12. be in a bad mood

Activity 2

In this activity, you must select the correct idiomatic expression in each sentence and conjugate the verbs. Be careful because there is one in the past imperfect and another in the past perfect.

You can see the solutions below or on the light bulb icon in the exercise itself.

Solutions:

1. It's a piece of bread
2. it was a dead fly
3. she's not even a fool
4. has given me pumpkins
5. is like a goat
6. work side by side
7. They look like an egg to a chestnut
8. doing the dog
9. I got up on the left foot.

Activity 3

In the next activity, you simply have to write the missing word. If you don't know it, you can see the solution in the exercise itself, by pressing the 'show solution' button.

See you soon!

Article written by Carlos Martinez for Hispania, Spanish school 

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