{"id":12065,"date":"2018-11-19T07:00:50","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T12:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/?p=12065"},"modified":"2018-11-18T18:55:42","modified_gmt":"2018-11-18T23:55:42","slug":"baseball-expressions-in-everyday-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/spanish\/baseball-expressions-in-everyday-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Baseball expressions in everyday Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that MLB\u2019s winter season is here, the \u201cPlay ball!\u201d shout can be heard from Central America to the north coast of South America, where b\u00e9isbol<\/em> (baseball) is eagerly followed by young and old alike since its introduction in that region in the 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s old-time favorite sport is so much ingrained in the culture of the Latin American countries bordering the Caribbean Sea that it has influenced even the Spanish varieties spoken in that area.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why many everyday expressions used in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela have their origin in the bat-and-ball game. Let\u2019s hit the field and learn some of those common expressions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Image taken from Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

Cuarto bate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Cuarto bate<\/em> (fourth batter) is equivalent to the cleanup hitter<\/em> or fourth man in the batting order. When someone is called a cuarto bate<\/em> in Venezuela, he or she is an achiever and very good at something. Meanwhile in Cuba, it is used to describe a person who has a big appetite.<\/p>\n

Bate quebrado<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bate quebrado <\/em>(broken bat) means the opposite of a cuarto bate<\/em>: someone who has a consistently mediocre or bad performance, e.g. yo s\u00e9 que el nuevo empleado es un bate quebrado<\/em> (I\u2019m sure the new employee is a run-of-the-mill worker.)<\/p>\n

Estar en tres y dos<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Estar en tres y dos<\/em> (to face a 3-2 count). If someone in Puerto Rico or Venezuela says estoy en tres y dos<\/em>, that means that person is in an awkward position, like being between a rock and a hard place. In the Dominican Republic, estar en tres y dos <\/em>is also used to refer to a person who is seriously ill.<\/p>\n

Agarrar fuera de base<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Venezuela and Puerto Rico, when a person is suddenly caught in an unpleasant situation, you can usually hear me agarr\u00f3 fuera de base<\/em> (I was caught out of base or off-guard.) In Cuba and the Dominican Republic, when someone is agarrado<\/em> fuera de base<\/em>, that person was caught cheating on a partner.<\/p>\n

Quedar ponchado<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Quedar ponchado<\/em> (to get punched out) is used to say that someone has been stupefied by someone else or has failed to do something, like in quedaste ponchado en la entrevista de trabajo <\/em>(you failed badly the job interview.)<\/p>\n

Recoger los bates<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Recoger los bates<\/em> (to pick up the bats) is commonly used in Cuba when a particular event is about to end or has just finished, like in this example: Se termin\u00f3 la reuni\u00f3n, recojamos los bates<\/em> (the meeting is over, let\u2019s wrap things up.)<\/p>\n

Sacarla de jonr\u00f3n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sacarla de jonr\u00f3n <\/em>(to hit a home run). When you feel you have accomplished something big, like passing your driving test on your first attempt, la sacaste de jonr\u00f3n<\/em> (you had an extraordinary success.)<\/p>\n

If you want to be a cuarto bate<\/em> at Spanish, use these expressions to sacarla de jonr\u00f3n <\/em>and not quedar ponchado.<\/em><\/p>\n

Can you think of any similar expressions in your language? Share them with me on the comments below!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Now that MLB\u2019s winter season is here, the \u201cPlay ball!\u201d shout can be heard from Central America to the north coast of South America, where b\u00e9isbol (baseball) is eagerly followed by young and old alike since its introduction in that region in the 19th century. America\u2019s old-time favorite sport is so much ingrained in the…<\/p>\n

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