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