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Was it worth it? Sleep on it! Posted by on Mar 5, 2012 in Spanish Vocabulary

Yes, idioms are everywhere and in Spanish it’s not different, so let’s check out some very, but very cool idioms and colloquial expressions to spice your Spanish up a bit! Check out the idiom and the examples.

Valer la pena – to be worth it, to be worthwhile, to pay off
No vale la pena luchar por ello. [It’s not worth fighting for it.]
Valió la pena haber estudiado tanto para la prueba. [Studying so hard for the test paid off.]

Ser el colmo – to be the last straw
¡Es el colmo! No aguanto más tus estupideces. [It’s the last straw! I can’t take any more of your nonsense.]
Es el colmo que haya venido después de haber hecho todo aquello. [He’s got some nerve to come here after doing all that.]

Caer en la cuenta de que – to realize (something)
Anduvo por horas cuando cayó en la cuenta de que estaba perdido. [He had walked for hours when he realized he was lost.]
Le dije que estaba en la calle incorrecta y solo cayó en la cuenta después de dos horas. [I told him he was on the wrong street and he only realized that after two hours.]

Por los pelos – by the skin of your teeth, nearly
Agarramos el tren por los pelos. [We nearly missed the train.]
España gana por los pelos a Arabia Saudí. [Spain beat Saudi Arabia by the skin of its teeth.]

Consultarlo con la almohada – to sleep on it
Bueno, no se puede decidir algo tan importante así sobre la marcha – voy a consultarlo con la almohada. [Well, you can’t decide something like this on the spot – I’ll sleep on it.]
Si todavía no sabes qué hacer, consúltalo con la almohada. [If you still don’t know what to do, sleep on it.]

Ser pan comido – to be a piece of cake, very easy
La prueba de español fue pan comido. [The Spanish test was a piece of cake.]
Tu entrevista de trabajo será pan comido. [Your job interview will be a piece of cake.]

Ser un cero a la izquierda – to be useless
Dijo que su jefe es un cero a la izquierda. Ojalá no lo haya oído. (He said his boss is useless. Hopefully he didn’t hear it.]
No comprendo por qué está enamorada de aquel tipo. Es un cero a la izquierda. [I can’t understand why she’s in love with that guy. He’s useless.]

Por hoy es todo. Nos vemos prontito.

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About the Author: Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.