Animal idioms in Spanish Posted by Magda on Sep 19, 2013 in Learning, Spanish Vocabulary
As you know, we Spanish people have an old tradition of proverbs and sayings. There are many colloquial expressions using different animal names. Today we are going to review some of them. Instead of giving you the translation, I´ll provide several definitions and you have to choose the right option according to the meaning. I´ll give you the answers soon!
Por si las moscas.
a.- To have flies at home
b.- To be a mess.
c.- Just in case.
Ser perro viejo.
a.- To be very old
b.- To be a wise old owl
c.- To be very grumpy
Estar como gallina en corral ajeno.
a.- To have a lot of friends.
b.- To feel very happy.
c.- To feel uncomfortable with a situation.
Pagar el pato.
a.- To pay for some food.
b.- To love ducks
c.- To be the scapegoat.
Ser un cerdo:
a.- To be intelligent
b.- To be very dirty
c.- To confront directly a situation without doubting
Ser un lince:
a.- To see very well
b.- To be very clever
c.- Somebody who does not spend money
Coger el toro por los cuernos:
a.- To confront directly a situation without doubting
b.- To be crazy or to be eccentric
c.- To be very sad
Andar como perros y gatos.
a.- To move like an animal.
b.- To walk smoothly.
c.- To be constantly quarreling
Tener una lengua viperina:
a.- To see very well
b.- To act without thinking
c.- Somebody that criticizes to the others
Portarse como un borrego:
a.- To be intelligent
b.- To follow the opinions or actions of the others without making own decisions
c.- Somebody who does not work
Tener vista de águila:
a.- To feel sad
b.- To see very well
c.- To have the glasses broken
Ser un rata:
a.- Somebody who does not spend money
b.- To confront directly a situation without doubting
c.- To be very angry
Estar como una cabra:
a.- To be unkind
b.- To be crazy or to be eccentric
c.- Somebody that helps the others
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About the Author: Magda
Hi all! I’m Magda, a Spanish native speaker writing the culture posts in the Transparent Language Spanish blog. I have a Bachelor’s in English Philology and a Master’s in Linguistics and Literature from the University of Granada, in Spain. I have also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and then worked as an English teacher in several schools and academies for several years. Last year was my first at university level. In addition, I work as a private tutor, teaching English and Spanish as a foreign language to students and adults. In my free time, I’m an avid reader and writer, editing and collaborating in several literary blogs. I have published my first poetry book recently. And last but not least, I love photography!
Comments:
Asif Ali:
Nice..!!! i love Spanish language, some of the Spanish sentence like “Hasta La Vista” is very famous at my side. I heard it many movie , where i got sense of this sentence means good bye till next time meeting.
If someone is unaware about idioms important or want to search idioms meaning in easy way then i suggest those parties to view the following links:
http://englishlearningfreetips.weebly.com/1/post/2013/11/learning-english-idioms.html
http://adilsbhatti.com/importance-of-using-idioms/
http://justhowtos.wordpress.com/2013/11/08/how-to-learn-english-quickly/
Barbarella a.k.a. The Mad Cat Lady:
oh please! Can´t you give us the answers now? 🙂
Magda:
@Barbarella a.k.a. The Mad Cat Lady For sure, here you have!
Por si las moscas: Just in case.
Ser perro viejo: To be a wise old owl
Estar como gallina en corral ajeno: To feel uncomfortable with a situation.
Pagar el pato: To be the scapegoat.
Ser un cerdo: To be very dirty
Ser un lince: To be very clever
Coger el toro por los cuernos: To confront directly a situation without doubting
Andar como perros y gatos: To be constantly quarreling
Tener una lengua viperina: Somebody that criticizes to the others
Portarse como un borrego: To follow the opinions or actions of the others without making own decisions
Tener vista de águila: To see very well
Ser un rata: Somebody who does not spend money
Estar como una cabra: To be crazy or to be eccentric
David Green:
OK, I’ll have a go 🙂
c,b,c,c,b,b,a,c,c,b,b,a,b
How did I do?
Magda:
@David Green You did it perfect, congrats!
Cynthia:
Ser una rata en México es una persona que roba (casas, directamente a personas en la calle, o algunas personas con puestos políticos que roban el dinero de la población)