Spanish idioms

¡ojo al parche! – look out! stay alert!, don´t drop your guard!, keep your eyes peeled!

¡que me quiten lo bailado! – This Spanish expression is originally from Rio de la Plata and means that, come what may, no one can take away from us the good times we’ve had.

¿qué le hace una mancha más al tigre? – What’s one more stripe on a tiger’s back? We use this Spanish expression metaphorically to say that more of a certain thing, when there’s lots of it, is likely to go unnoticed or make no difference.

a banderas desplegadas – with flying colors

a caballo regañado no le mires el diente – Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth

a chorros – in great quantities

a como de lugar – at all costs, in any way possible

a contramano – in the wrong direction, against the traffic

a destiempo – untimely, ill-timed, inopportune

a dos pasos – very close, within an ace of

a duras penas – scarcely, with great difficulty

a fin de cuentas – at the end of the day, when all is said and done

a gatas – on all fours

a granel– in bulk

a la carrera – This Spanish idiom describes an unthorough, hurried way of doing something.

a la larga – in the long run

a la merced de – at the mercy of

a la vez – at the same time, simultaneously

a las espaldas de alguien – behind somebody´s back

a lo major – maybe, possibly

a mano – 1. even, without pending accounts either way, 2. by hand

a más tardar – at the latest

a menudo – often, many a time

a ojo de buen cubero – by rule of thumb

a palo seco – without anything to go with it. This Spanish idiom is most commonly used referring to food or drink taken without anything else.

a pesar de – in spite of

a propósito – by the way

a punto de – at the brink of

a que… – I bet that…

a rajatabla – inflexibly, rigorously, strictly

a regañadientes – unwillingly, complainingly

a rey muerto, rey puesto – Out with the old, in with the new

a rienda suelta – without any constraint or control, freely

a solas – alone, by one´s self

a tientas – guiding one´s self by feel, for instance in the darkness

a toda costa – at all costs

a toda máquina – very fast

a todas luces – by all appearances, clearly, evidently

a todo trapo – with luxury, in grand style

a todo vapor – very fast, as fast as posible

a troche y moche – thoughtlessly, inconsiderately, helter-skelter

a trochemoche – thoughtlessly, inconsiderately, helter-skelter

a tumba abierta – exposing one´s self to extreme danger, at breakneck speed

a tutiplén – abundantly, profusely, copiously

a última hora – at the last moment

a ultranza – in the extreme, radically

a veces – sometimes, at times

a ver – we´ll see

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