AP Spanish: Idioms

Gajes de oficio

Occupational hazards

Qu� ilusi�n verte aqu�!

Great to see you!

a base de

Based on

a bote pronto

Out of the blue

a causa de

On account of

a cargo de

In charge of

a chorros

Gushing

a cuenta de

Because of

a disgusto

Reluctantly

a duras penas

With difficulty

a falta de

In the absence of

a la carrera

In a hurry

a lo lejos

In the distance

a lo sumo

At the most

a manos

By hand

a medias

Partly

a medida que

At the same time as

a modo de castigo

As punishment

a sabiendas de que

Knowing full well that

a su antojo

In their own way

A tomar por saco!

Sod off!

Abastecerse de

To stock up on

Aburrirse como una ostra

To be bored stiff

Acaso

Perhaps

Ahogarse en un vaso de agua

To make a mountain out of a molehill

Por azar

By chance

Al azar

At random

Al borde de la muerte

On the brink of death

Por el contrario

On the other hand

Animarse a hacer algo

To bring oneself to do sth

Apreciarse

To be noticeable

Aqu� hay gato encerrado

There's sth fishy going on here

Armar un esc�ndolo

To kick up a fuss

Atar cabos

To put two and two together

Decir borr�n y cuenta nueva

To kiss and make up

Caer del guindo

To cotton on

Coger un atajo

To take a shortcut

Comes el doble que yo

You eat twice as much as me

Con cuentagotas

In dribs and drabs

Con relaci�n a

In relation to

Con toda la barba

Wholeheartedly

Costar un ojo de la cara

To cost an arm and a leg

Le ha dado por el yoga

He's got into yoga

Dar cambio de cien

To give change for a hundred

Dar en el blanco

To hit the target

Dar en el clavo

To hit the nail on the head

Dar gato por liebre

To swindle

Da gusto estar aqu�

It's nice to be here

Dar la brasa a alguien

To hassle someone

Dar la cara

To face the music

Dar la espalda a alguien

To turn one's back on someone

Dar la talla

To measure up; to be good enough

Dar por hecho

To take for granted

Dar que hablar

To give people sth to talk about

No se dio por aludido

He didn't take the hint

De calle

Everyday

De camino al trabajo

On the way to work

Tengo una resaca de campeonato

I have a huge hangover

De golpe

All at once

Es de lejos el mejor

He's the best by far

De ocasi�n

As a bargain

de oficio

by trade

dicho sea de paso

in passing

hay un �rbol de por medio

there's a tree in the way

es tonto de remate

he's completely stupid

soslayar

to avoid (questions)

de tres en tres

three at a time

de turno

on duty

de una vez

in one go

lo siento de veras

I'm really sorry

dejar las cosas claras

to get things straight

desahogarse

to let off steam

desviarse del tema

to get sidetracked

doblar la esquina

to go round the corner

tirar balones fuera

to dodge the issue

echar las campanas al vuelo

to start shouting about it

efectivamente

indeed!; in reality

el alma se le cay� a los pies

her heart sank

�l es su peor rival

he's his own worst enemy

El mundo es un pa�uelo

it's a small world

el punto flaco

weak point

el tama�o de la muestra

sample size

El viaje me hace mucha ilusi�n

I'm really looking forward to the trip

el jefe de ventas

head of sales

en aras de

in honour of

en balde

in vain

en carne y hueso

in person

en comparaci�n con

compared with

en el fondo

at heart

de todos modos

anyway

poner algo a la pr�ctica

to put sth into practice

en mangas de camisa

in shirtsleeves

en orden alfab�tico

in alphabetical order

en redondo

point blank

en sus propias narices

right under their noses

en todas partes cuecen habas

it's the same the world over

en un primer vistazo

at first glance

en un segundo plano

in the background

en virtud de la ley

in accordance with the law

ense�ar los galones

to show who's boss

en el entretanto

meanwhile

es igual que su madre

she's just like her mother

es puro cuento

it's all lies

es tirar el dinero

it's a waste of money

es un hecho conocido

it's a well known fact

es una larga historia!

it's a long story

no hagas locuras

don't do anything stupid

escurrir el bulto

to pass the buck

eso digo yo

that's just what I say

estar a la altura

to be up to it

estar al pie del ca��n

to be up for the struggle

estar bajo de moral

to be in low spirits

estar buen visto

to look good

estar de los nervios

to be on edge

estar de rebaja

to be reduced

estar en buenas manos

to be in good hands

estar en juego

to be at stake

meterse en un l�o

to get into trouble

estar impresionado por algo

to be amazed by sth

estar mal visto

to be frowned upon

estar pendiente de algo

to be waiting for sth

estar por los suelos

to be at rock bottom

excederse

to go too far (exceed oneself)

hab�a una vez...

once upon a time...

hablar por los codos

to talk nineteen to the dozen

hace bien su oficio

he really knows his job

hacer balance de

to take stock of

hacer la pelota

to suck up to

Est� endeudado hasta las cejas

he's in debt up to his eyes

me hirve la sangre

it makes my blood boil

huelga decir que...

it goes without saying that...

igual no lo saben

maybe they don't know

inclinar la balanza a favor de

to tip the balance in favour of

va a por ti

he's out to get you

van a por sus intereses

they're only looking out for their own interests

irse al traste

to fall through

correrse una juerga

to go on a bender

irse de la lengua

to talk too much when you shouldn't

irse de rositas

to get off scot free

al Fred se le fue de la mano

For Fred it got out of hand

jugar al gato y al rat�n

to play cat and mouse

la cabra tira al monte

the leopard never changes its spots

la cantidad justa

the right amount

la empleada de hogar

home help

la flor y nata

the elite

la leche que te han dado!

you're impossible!

la ley de la oferta y la demanda

the law of supply and demand

de autos

in question

la sala de chat

chatroom

la sala de embarque

departure lounge

la segunda intenci�n

ulterior motive

la subida salarial

pay rise

hace la tira de a�os

loads of years ago

la viva imagen de alguien

the spitting image of someone

las paredes oyen

walls have ears

llegar a puerto

to come to fruition

llegar para las postres

to be late

llevar a alguien a juicio

to take someone to court

lo que ha hecho es como para matarlo

what he did makes you want to kill him

lo ven cuatro gatos

hardly anyone watches it

los vaiv�nes

ups and downs

Mal de muchos, consuelo de tontos

it's no consolation

mantenerse en su trece

to refuse to budge

me da corte

I'm embarrassed

me suena a chino

it's all Greek to me

mediada la primera parte

halfway through the first part

menuda chorrada!

what a load of rubbish!

meter la nariz en algo

to stick one's nose in sth

meterse una idea entre ceja y ceja

to get an idea into one's head

mirarse al espejo

to look at oneself in the mirror

dar un show

to make a scene

nada m�s ponerme a hablar, ...

as soon as I started to speak, ...

ni chicha ni limonada

neither one thing nor the other

no hay ni dios

there's no one around

no est� el horno para bollos

the time isn't ripe

no le corresponde hacerlo

it's not his job to do it

no me inspira confianza

it doesn't inspire me with confidence

la pelicula no tiene p�rdida!

the film is not to be missed!

no tiene nada de particular

it's nothing special

no tiene por qu� hacerlo

there's no reason to do it

No vas desencaminado

You're not wrong there

nom�s

L Am - all of a sudden; [adding emphasis generally]

nunca he visto cosa igual

I've never seen anything like it

pasar de moda

to go out of fashion

ponerse de moda

to come into fashion

Su presencia no pas� desapercibida ayer

Her presence did not go unnoticed yesterday

pasar muchos apuros

to be hard up

pasarse algo por las narices

to care less about sth

pasarse de listo

to be too clever by half

Tengo la casa patas arriba

My house is in a mess

Pens�ndolo bien...

On reflection...

perder el norte

to be at a loss as to what to do, to lose the plot

perder la br�jula

to lose one's touch

perder los estribos

to lose one's rag

perder los papeles

to fly off the handle

plantar cara a alguien

to stand up to someone

poner las cosas en la balanza

to weigh up the pros and cons

poner algo en la tapete

to raise an issue

poner a alguien al tanto

to put someone in the picture

poner trabas a alguien

to make things difficult for someone

ponerse a r�gimen

to go on a diet

ponerse las pilas

to get one's act together

de ah� que

therefore

por afici�n

as a hobby

por barba

per head (informal)

por doquier

everywhere

por encargo

in advance

por no hablar del dolor

to say nothing of the pain

fue error por parte nuestra

it was an error on our part

por su bien

for her own good

un abogado que se precie

any self-respecting lawyer

pregonar

to announce, to make public

prender fuego a algo

to set fire to sth

Qu� casualidad!

What a coincidence!

regular

so-so

respecto a

with regards to

restar importancia a la situaci�n

to play down the situation

rizar el rizo

to make things even more complicated

sacar a alguien las casta�as del fuego

to save someone's bacon

sacar a alguien de quicio

to drive someone mad

salir a alguien el tiro por la culata

to backfire on someone

saltar a la luz

to come to light

saltar a la vista

to be patently obvious

se arm� la de San Quint�n

all hell broke loose

se le dan los idiomas

he's good at languages

se me fue de la cabeza

it went right out of my mind

se te ve el plumero

we know what you're up to

se va a la legua

it stands out a mile

sentirse a gusto

to feel comfortable

ser el diminutivo de algo

to be short for sth

ser partidario de

to be in favour of

son las siglas de algo

to be the abbreviation of sth

subirse al carro

to jump on the bandwagon

Jam�s o� tama�a mentira

I never heard such a lie

te doblo la edad

I'm twice your age

tenedor libre

all you can eat

tener buena planta

to be handsome

tener fama de ser algo

to be famous for being sth

tener presente

to have in mind

arrojar la toalla

to throw in the towel

tirar por la borda

(fig) to waste an opportunity

titularse en

to graduate in

tocar el timbre

to ring the doorbell

tomar de reh�n

to take hostage

tomar el aire

to get some fresh air

relevar a alguien

to take over from someone

tomar la palabra

to have the last word

tomar nota de algo

to note sth down

tomarse algo en serio

to take sth seriously

tomarse algo a pecho

to take sth to heart

trabarse en algo

to get involved in sth

tres veces seguidas

three times in a row

un hombre de a pie

a man in the street

un perro viejo en algo

an old hand at sth

una cabeza de turco

scapegoat

una cosa llev� a la otra

one thing led to another

una vez acabada la reuni�n...

once the meeting has finished...

Unos cardan la lana y otros cobran la fama

Some people do all the work, and others take all the credit

valer un potos�

to be worth a fortune

salir a la venta

to go on sale

y tal y cual

and so on