Expresiones idiomticas

Traduccin

Ejemplo

con sus sinnimos

after all despite,

despus de todo, al fin

I knew it! After all, I was

nevertheless

y al cabo

right!

all along all the time

todo el tiempo

I knew about his little secret

all along.

all ears eager to listen

todo odos

I am all ears.

all of a sudden

de repente, de pronto

All of a sudden, he refused

suddenly

to pay.

all the same

da igual, lo mismo;

If its all the same to you,

no difference

de todos modos

lets start at two.

all thumbs clumsy

torpe

He cant fix anything, hes all

thumbs.

apple of discord

manzana de la discordia This question is an apple

subject of envy or quarrel

as a rule usually

of discord in our family.

como regla general

As a rule, we offer a 5%
discount.

as far as I am

en lo que a m respecta

As far as I am concerned,

concerned

both the book and the movie

in my opinion

are good.

as for me/as to me

en cuanto a m

in my opinion
as well also, too

As for me, you can rely

on his support.

tambin

He knows math, and

physics as well.

at all (not) in the

en lo ms mnimo,

He doesnt know French

smallest degree

en absoluto

at all. I dont like it at all.

at random without order al azar

He chose those places

at random.

at this point at this time a estas alturas

At this point, we cant turn

back.
be about to ready

estar a punto de

(to do)

I was about to leave when

you called.

be after someone

estar tras alguien; insistir, His mother is always after

insist, press

presionar

him to study.

be all in be extremely

estar hecho polvo

Im all in, Id better go to bed

tired

now.

be back on ones feet

Hes back on his feet after

healthy again or better

financially

recuperarse despus
de un tiempo difcil;
ponerse de pie otra vez

a long period of debt and

unemployment.

beat around the bush irse por las ramas

Stop beating around the

avoid giving a clear/definite

bush! Get to the point!

answer
be beside oneself

estar fuera de s

be very upset, nervous,

She was beside herself with

worry / with grief.

worried, etc.
be better of

estar en una mejor

Hell be better off with a new

be in a better situation

situacin

job.

be broke have

estar en bancarrota

I spent all my money, Im

no money at all
be hard on something

broke.
ser duro con algo/alguien My son is hard on shoes,

/someone treat roughly

they dont last long with him.

Life was pretty hard on Tom.

be high on ones list

encabezar la lista de los

A new car is high on my list

be one of the most

asuntos importantes

of priorities. A new TV is not

important things

high on my list.

be in charge of

estar a cargo de, ser

He is in charge

be responsible for

responsable de

of marketing.

be in the red be in debt estar en deuda, estar

Our sales were in the red

quebrado

last year.

be into

estar

He is into computers. She

smth. be interested in

interesado/apasionado poris into sports.

algo

bend over backwards hacer todo lo que

I bent over backwards

try hard

se pueda

to help her.

be on ones way

estar en el camino

Im on my way.

be on the safe side not para mayor seguridad

Take an extra key, just

to take any chances

to be on the safe side.

be out of be without

estar fuera de, estar

We are out of bread,

desabastecido, no tener

cheese, and sugar.

be out of shape

no estar en forma / estar He needs to exercise,

be physically unfit

en mala condicin fsica

he is out of shape.

be out of sorts in bad

estar de mal humor

Leave him alone, hes out

humor
be pressed for time /

of sorts today
estar presionado por

Im pressed for time now.

money be short of; not tiempo/dinero (no tener

We are pressed for money

have enough

at the moment.

suficiente tiempo/dinero
por el momento)

beside the point off the ajeno a la cuestin,

What I said to him privately

point

no va al caso

is beside the point.

be to blame

ser culpable

Who is to blame for this

be responsible for

awful mistake? Tom

a mistake / something

is to blame for this mix-up.

wrong
be touch and go

pender de un hilo

be uncertain of the result

He was very sick, and for

some time it was touch
and go, but he is better now.

be up against

enfrentar (a algo/alguien), Our company is up against

be opposed by, have

encontrarse ante

serious attempts of hostile

problems, be in danger

problemas

takeover.

be up and

volver a andar,

He was sick for a month, but

around/about able

recuperarse (despus

now he is up and around.

to be out of bed after

de una enfermedad)

an illness
be up to ones ears

estar muy ocupado

Im up to my ears in work.

estar tramando algo

I have to check what the

very busy
be up to something
do mischief

kids are up to.

be up to someone

Its up to you to decide. Its

be ones own decision

ser decisin de alguien,

up to you to close the office

or responsibility

corresponderle a alguien every day at 8 oclock.

be used to

estar acostumbrado a

be accustomed to
big shot important

used to heat.
persona importante

person
bite of more than one

Im used to hard work. Hes

He is a big shot around
here.

sobrevalorar tus fuerzas

I couldnt handle two jobs

can chew try to do more (morder ms de lo que

and family. I really bit off

than one can

more than I could chew.

puedes masticar)

bite ones tongue stop morderse la lengua, dejar I almost told her, but bit
talking

de hablar

my tongue.

bite the dust die,

morder el polvo, morir

Many of them bit the dust

be defeated

in that war.

black sheep a good-for- oveja negra

Their second son is the

nothing member of the

black sheep of the family,

family

he is good for nothing.

blind date a meeting

cita a ciegas

She refuses to go on a blind

of a man and woman

date again because she had

arranged by friends

bad experience.

blow it lose the chance perder la oportunidad

He understood that
he blew it.

blow over pass, end

pasar

Wait here till his anger

blows over.

bottom line main

resultado

result/factor

The bottom line is, I dont

have enough money.

break into enter

entrar por la fuerza,

The police broke into the

by force

penetrar

robbers house.

break ones heart hurt romper el corazn

The news of her death

deeply

broke his heart.

de alguien

break the ice overcome romper el hielo (superar

The party was dull until

shyness in making the first la timidez y dar el primer someone broke the ice with
step

paso)

a joke and we all laughed.

break the news tell new difundir la informacin

CNN is breaking the news

facts

right now.

bring home the bacon proveer a la familia

He works very hard

earn the living for the family

at several places to bring

home the bacon.

brush of give

no hacer caso

no attention to
brush up on review

The boss brushed off

my project again.

repasar, refrescar

You need to brush up on the

la memoria

tenses.

by all means -definitely,

definitivamente, por

Do you need my help?

certainly

supuesto

By all means.

by heart by memorizing de memoria

Learn this poem by heart for

tomorrow.

by hook or by crook

como sea

She will get what she wants

by any means possible

by hook or by crook.

by the way incidentally por cierto

By the way, Ann is coming

back today.

call a spade a spade

llamar a las cosas por

He always tells the truth and

use plain, direct words

su nombre

calls a spade a spade.

call it a day consider

considerar el trabajo

Weve been working for

work finished for the day

terminado

10 straight hours. Lets call

it a day.

call of cancel

cancelar

The police called off the

search.

carry out fulfill

realizar, cumplir

She never carries out her

plans.

carry weight

tener peso en, influir, ser His advice always carries

be important

importante

weight here.

cast down depressed,

desanimar

He was cast down by the

sad

bad news.

castles in the air

(construir) castillos

Instead of working hard,

daydreaming about

en el aire

he spends time building

success

castles in the air.

catch ones eye attract llamar la atencin

This picture caught my eye.

attention
catch ones breath stop recobrar el aliento

I cant run, I need to catch

and rest

my breath.

catch someone of

tomar por sorpresa

guard catch someone

He caught me off guard with

his question.

unprepared
catch someone red-

sorprender a alguien con The manager caught the

handed find smb. in the las manos en la masa

boy red-handed when

act of doing wrong

he was stealing cigarettes.

catch up become not

ponerse al da

behind

He needs to catch up with

the others.

close call a narrow

por poco sucede algo

The speeding car almost hit

escape, a bad thing that

malo (escaparse por

the man. That was really

almost happened

milagro)

a close call.

come across meet

encontrar

I came across that article

by chance

yesterday.

come down with

caer resfriado

Im coming down with

become ill

a cold.

come to ones senses entrar en razn

He finally came to his

start acting reasonably,

senses, started to work

intelligently

hard, and passed his

exams.

come true become

volverse realidad

My dream came true when I

reality

met Pat.

come up with suggest proponer

Mike came up with a brilliant

idea.

count on depend on

contar con

You can always count

on me for help.

cut corners to take

buscar atajos, omitir

He ran fast, cutting corners

a short-cut; to limit ones

procedimientos

where he could. I have

spending
cut down on reduce

to cut corners this week.

reducir el consumo

You have to cut down

on chocolate.

cut out to be /cut out for estar hecho para (algn

She isnt cut out

it have the ability

to be a surgeon. Hes cut

trabajo)

to do something
do ones best try very

out to be a leader.
dar lo mejor de s

hard

I did my best to help him

in his work.

do ones bit do whats

aportar su granito

Ill do my bit, you can count

needed

de arena; hacer

on me.

lo necesario
do over do again

rehacer

This work is not good,

do it over.

do someone good

beneficiar

be good for
do something behind

Fresh air and exercise will

do you good.

hacer algo a espaldas

ones back do (harmful) de uno

I hate people who do things

behind my back. He did

things secretively

it behind my back again.

do without live without vivir sin, prescindir

Ill have to do without a car

for a while.

down to earth practical prctico, realista

Hes quiet, sensible and

down to earth.

draw the line fix a limit trazar la lnea, limitar

He drew the line for her

at $100 a day.

dress up put on the best ponerse la mejor ropa

What are you dressed

clothes

up for?

drop of deliver

llevar (a una persona

Can you drop me off at the

somewhere

a un lugar), dejar (a una

bank?

persona en un lugar)
drop out quit (school)

abandonar

He dropped out of school

last year.

duty calls must fulfill

el deber llama

obligations
easier said than done
eat ones words take

left for work.

es ms fcil decir que

Its easier said than done,

hacerlo

but Ill try to do it.

tragarse las palabras

He had to eat his words

back words
even so nevertheless,

after her report.

an as

but
every now and then

He said, Duty calls and

I work hard. Even so, I like

my job.

de vez en cuando

-occasionally

Every now and then I visit

my old aunt.

every other day every

cada dos das; un da

She washes her hair every

second one

s y un da no

other day.

fall behind lag behind

quedarse atrs

The little boy fell behind the

older boys.

fall in love begin to love enamorarse

Tom fell in love with Sue

at first sight.

fall out of love stop

dejar de amar

loving
false alarm untrue

They fell out of love and

divorced soon.

falsa alarma

rumor

I heard he quit but it was

a false alarm.

a far cry from

muy lejos de ser algo,

His second book wasnt

something very

muy diferente a lo que

bad, but it was a far cry from

different, almost opposite

creas

his first book.

feel it in ones bones

tener una corazonada

Something bad is going

expect something bad

(presentimiento)

to happen, I feel

(neg.)

to happen
feel like doing

it in my bones.
antojarse de hacer algo,

I feel like going for a walk.

something want to do, sentir ganas de hacer algo I dont feel like working now,
be inclined to do smth.

Im tired.

feel up to be able to do tener nimo para hacer

I dont feel up to cleaning

few and far between

algo

the house.

muy pocos, escasos

Her visits are few and far

rare, scarce

between.

find fault with criticize encontrar fallos, criticar

He always finds faults with

everybody.

find out learn

averiguar, descubrir

or discover
firsthand directly from

town.
de primera mano

the source
first things first

I found out that Maria left

You can trust it, its firsthand
information.

primero lo primero

First things first: how much

important things come

money do we have to pay

before others

right away?

fly of the handle get

perder los estribos

angry
follow in someones
footsteps do the same

He flew off the handle and

yelled at me.

seguir los pasos de otro

Igor followed in his fathers

footsteps, he became

thing

a doctor, too.

foot in the door

tener un pie adentro (tener Nina got a foot in the door

a special opportunity for

una oportunidad

because her friend works

a job

de trabajo)

in that company.

foot the bill pay the bill pagar

Her father footed the bill for

the party.

for good forever

para siempre

After her death, he left town

for good.

for the time being

por el momento, por ahoraFor the time being, this

at this time
frame of mind mental

house is all right for us.

estado de nimo

state

I cant do it in this frame

of mind.

from A to Z completely conocer algo de pe a pa; He knows this town from A

de cabo a rabo

to Z.

from now on now and

desde ahora, a partir

From now on, I forbid you

in the future

de ahora

to go there.

get a grip on oneself

obtener control sobre

Stop crying! Get a grip

take control of ones

s mismo

on yourself!

llevarse bien con

Ann gets along with most

feelings
get along with have
good relations

coworkers, but doesnt get

along with Laura.

get away with not

evitar el castigo, escapar The police didnt find the

be caught after doing

de la justicia

wrong
get carried away get

thief. He got away with his

crime.

entusiasmarse

He got carried away with

too excited and enthusiastic

opening a store and lost

about something

most of his money.

get cold feet be afraid

entrarle miedo a alguien

to do
get even with have

I wanted to try it but got cold

feet.

desquitarse

Ill get even with him for

ones revenge
get in touch with

everything!
contactar a alguien

Get in touch with Mr. Smith

contact

for help.

get lost lose ones way perderse

She got lost in the old part

of town.

Get lost! Lay off!

get mixed up get

Vete! Desaparcete!

I dont want to see you

Lrgate!

again. Get lost!

confundir

I got mixed up, went the

confused

wrong way and got lost.

get of ones back leave dejar a alguien en paz

Stop bothering me! Get off

alone

my back!

get on ones high

actuar como si fueras

Every time I ask her to help

horse behave haughtily mejor que otras personas, me with typing, she gets
towards someone

ser engredo

on her high horse.

get on (the bus, train,

subir (el transporte)

I got on the bus on Oak

plane)
get of (the bus, train,

Street.
bajar (el transporte)

I got off the bus at the bank.

plane)
get out of hand get out salirse de las manos,

If he gets out of hand again,

of control

fuera de control

call me right away.

get over recover after

recuperarse despus

I cant get over how rude

an illness or bad

de una enfermedad

he was to me. She got over

experience

o mala experiencia,

her illness quite quickly.

superar
get rid of dispose of,

deshacerse

He got rid of his old useless

discard

car.

get together meet with reunirse

My friends and I get

together often.

get to the bottom know llegar al fondo de algo

He usually gets to the

deeply

bottom of things.

get to the point get

ir al grano

Get to the point!

to the matter
Give me a break! spare Dame un respiro!

Come on, stop it! Give

me

me a break!

Djame!

give someone a hand dar la mano, ayudar

Can you give me a hand

help

with cooking?

give someone

llevar a alguien en auto

Can you give me a lift to the

a lift /a ride take

bank? He gave her a ride

to some place by car

in his new Porsche.

give someone a piece

criticar, decir abiertamente She lost my umbrella again,

of ones mind criticize

lo que piensas

frankly

so I gave her a piece

of my mind about her
carelessness.

give up stop doing

rendirse

something, stop trying

I gave up smoking. I gave

up trying to fix my old car.

to do something
go back on ones word romper

First he said he would

break a promise

help me, but then he went

la palabra/promesa

back on his word.

go for it try to do a new intentar algo nuevo

If I were you, I would

thing

go for it.

go from bad to worse ir de mal en peor

His business went from bad

be worse

to worse.

go out go to parties,

salir (de fiesta, al cine,

Do he and his wife go out

movies

etc.)

often?

go out of ones way -try

poner mucho esfuerzo,

He goes out of his way

very hard

intentar mucho

to please her.

go to ones head make subirse a la cabeza

His acting success went

too proud

to his head.

(xito), sentirse
demasiado orgulloso

go to pieces get very

derrumbarse, quedar

She went to pieces when

upset, fall apart

deshecho

she heard it.

go with the flow lead

ir con la corriente

She always goes with the

quiet life
grow on someone

flow.
gustar poco a poco

become liked
had better should

When she knew him more,

he grew on her.

ms vale que

You look ill, youd better see

a doctor.

have a ball have a good pasarla bien

Yesterday we had a ball

time

at the party.

have a bone to pick

tener una cuenta que

Mr. Brown, I have a bone

complain or discuss

ajustar

to pick with you. My mail

something unpleasant
have a word with

was lost because of you.

hablar con alguien

Can I have a word with you?

have words with

hablar muy seriamente

I had words with

someone argue with

con alguien /discutir

my coworker today because

someone talk to

someone about something

he used my computer again.

have it in him have the tener habilidades

Laura has it in her

ability

to be a good doctor.

have no business doing

no es tu asunto, no tienes You have no business

something have no right derecho de (estar aqu,

staying here without

to do

hacer esto, etc.)

my permission.

have ones back to the

estar entre la espada

I had no choice, I had

wall be hard-pressed,

y la pared

my back to the wall.

estar muy ocupado

He has his hands full with

on the defensive
have ones hands full
very busy

hard work.

have ones heart set

querer algo demasiado,

She has her heart set

on something want

ansiar algo

on going to New York.

something very much

He has his heart set

on Betty.

have pull have influence influir, pesar

Does he have pull with the

on

director?

(not) have the heart

(not) have the courage

(no) atreverse a hacer

I dont have the heart to tell

him that he wasnt accepted,

to do smth. unpleasant

algo desagradable;

high and low

en todas partes

everywhere

(en el cielo y en la tierra, my lost cat.

(no) tener corazn para

hell be so unhappy.

I searched high and low for

cuando se refiere
a bsquedas)
hit the nail on the head acertar

You hit the nail on the head

say exactly the right thing

when you said our company

needs a new director.

hit upon something

pensar en algo; descubrir They hit upon gold. I hit

to discover

upon a plan.

hold it against

guardar rencores

I lost his book, but

someone blame

en contra de alguien;

he doesnt hold

somebody for doing

culpar a alguien por algo it against me.

something
Hold it! Stop! Wait!

Detente! Espera!

Hold it! I forgot my key.

Hold on! Wait!

Espera!

Hold on! Ill be back

in a minute.

hold ones own

mantenerse firme

He can hold his own in any

maintain oneself

situation. We need men who

in a situation, behave

can hold their own.

as needed
hold up rob using

asaltar, atacar

a weapon
ill at ease

This bank was held up twice

last year.

disgustado, incmodo

She felt ill at ease because

uncomfortable

of her cheap dress.

in advance well before de antemano

He told her about his plan

in advance.

in a nutshell in a few

en breve, en pocas

In a nutshell, my plan

words

palabras

is to buy land.

in care of someone
write to one person at the

(escribir) a alguien

address of another

a la direccin de otra

in cold blood

a sangre fra

persona (al cuidado de)

Im staying at Toms house.

Write to me in care of Tom
Gray, Chicago, Illinois.

He killed her in cold blood.

mercilessly
in fact actually, in reality de hecho, en realidad

In fact, he works
as a manager here.

in general generally,

en general

generally speaking

In general, he likes
to be alone. He described
the place only in general.

in ones element what estar como pez en el aguaHes in his element when
one likes
in other words using

hes arguing.
en otras palabras

other words
in plain English

In other words, you refused

to do it for her.

sencillamente hablando

in simple, frank terms

I didnt really like the

concert. In plain English, the
concert was terrible.

the ins and outs all info los pormenores

He knows the ins and outs

about

of this business.

in someones shoes

en los zapatos de alguin, Id hate to be in his shoes

in another persons position en lugar de otra persona now. He lost his job, and his
wife is in the hospital.
in the long run in the
end

al final de cuentas

In the long run, itll be better

to buy it.

in the same boat in the en el mismo barco;

Stop arguing with me, were

same situation

in the same boat and should

en la misma situacion

help each other.

in the clear free from

estar fuera de sospecha

blame
in time

Pay the bill and youll

be in the clear.

a tiempo (para hacer algo) I came in time to have a cup

(to do something)

of coffee before class.

before something begins

it goes without saying no hace falta decir nada

It goes without saying that

should be clear without

he must pay what he owes

words

right away.

Its on the tip

est en la punta

His name is on the tip

of my tongue.

de mi lengua

of my tongue.

its time should

es hora

Hurry up, its time to go.

Its worth it. / Its not

lo vale / no lo vale

Watch this film, its worth it.

worth it. Its (not) worth

vale la pena / no vale

Dont buy this coat, it is not

buying, visiting, watching,

la pena

worth it. This museum

do it right away

etc.

is worth visiting. This film

is not worth watching.

it will do its enough

es suficiente

Stop reading, it will do for

now.

jump at the

aprovechar la oportunidad His boss mentioned a job

opportunity/chance

in Europe, and Peter

accept the opportunity

jumped at the opportunity.

eagerly
just as soon prefer this preferira

Id just as soon stay home,

one

Im tired.

just in case to be on the por si acaso

Take an extra shirt, just

safe side

in case.

Just my luck! Bad /

Vaya suerte que tengo!

They lost my job application.

Hard luck!

Qu mala suerte!

Just my luck!

keep an eye on take

estar pendiente; vigilar

Betty keeps an eye

care of, watch, look after

on my sons for me. Ill keep

an eye on you!

keep a straight face not mantener la cara seria

I tried to keep a straight

to laugh

face, but failed.

keep company

hacer compaa

accompany
keep ones word fulfill

She keeps me company

quite often.

mantener la palabra

You promised, now keep

a promise

your word.

keep someone posted mantener a alguien

Keep me posted about your

inform

al tanto / informado

plans.

keep your fingers

cruzar los dedos

I have a job interview today.

crossed hope that

Keep your fingers crossed

nothing will go wrong

for me, will you?

kill time fill/spend empty matar el tiempo

I went to the show to kill

time

time.

(not) know the first thing no saber nada acerca de I dont know the first thing
about not to have any

about nuclear physics.

knowledge about
know the ropes be very estar al tanto

He knows all the ropes

familiar with some business

in this company.

last-minute notice little noticia de timo minuto

His arrival was a last-minute

or no time to prepare for

notice, we didnt have time

something

to prepare for it.

lay ones cards on the

poner las cartas sobre

table be frank and open la mesa; ser sincero

Finally, we asked him to lay

his cards on the table and

y abierto

tell us about his plans.

lay ones life on the

poner la vida en juego,

He laid his life on the line

line put oneself

arriesgar la vida

to fulfill this task, but nobody

in a dangerous situation

appreciated his efforts.

lead a dogs life live

llevar una vida de perros He leads a dogs life.

in misery
lead someone on make engaar, hacer a alguien They suspect that you are
someone believe

creer que es cierto

something that isnt true

leave it at that accept

me on!
dejar las cosas como son Leave it at that, what else

reluctantly
leave word leave

can you do?

dejar un mensaje

a message
let bygones

leading them on. You led

He left word for you to meet

him at the airport at 6.

lo pasado, pasado est

Why dont you let bygones

be bygones forget and

be bygones and forget

forgive bad things in the

about what he said?

past
let go of release the

soltar, dejar ir

hold

Let go of my hand or Ill call

the guard.

let (it) go forget bad

dejarlo ir, superar malas

Hes still in despair and cant

experience, return

experiencias

let (it) go. You cant change

to normal life

anything, so let it go.

let ones hair down

soltarse la melena,

be relaxed and informal

echarse una cana al aire, She never lets her hair

with other people

relajarse

down.

let someone down

quedar mal con alguien,

Dont let me down this time!

disappoint, fail someone

decepcionar a alguien

let someone know

notificar, informar

inform
like father, like son

She is always so formal.

Let me know when you find

a job.

de tal palo, tal astilla

Paul won a prize in a chess

be like ones parent

tournament. Great! Like

in something

father, like son!

little by little step

poco a poco

by step
look for search for

Little by little, he got used

to Tokyo.

buscar

What are you looking for?

look forward to expect esperar con impaciencia

Im looking forward to your

with pleasure

letter. Mary is looking

forward to the party.

look out be careful,

tener cuidado

watch out

Look out! The bus

is coming!

look up check with

buscar (informacin

/in a dictionary

en un diccionario, Internet, look it up in the dictionary.

or a reference book

etc.)

lose ones temper

perder la paciencia,

He loses his temper very

become angry

enojarse

often.

lose ones way get lost perder el camino,

lose track of not

If you dont know this word,

I lost my way. Can you

perderse

help me?

perder el hilo/la pista

I lost track of him years ago.

golpe de suerte

He got his lucky break when

to know where someone

or something is
lucky break a lucky
chance
make a living earn

he got this job.

ganarse la vida

money to provide for life

He works hard. His family

is big, and he has to make
a living somehow.

make allowance for

tener en cuenta

Dont criticize him so hard,

take into consideration

make (an) allowance for his

when judging

inexperience.

make a point of be sure poner empeo en (hacer Make a point of asking

to do something

algo); hacer algo

about his wife. Make

intentionally

intencionalmente; tender it a point to be here by 10.

a/intentar

make ends meet

llegar a fin de mes;

His doesnt get much

to have and spend only

sobrevivir con pocos

money. I wonder how

what one earns

ingresos

he manages to make ends

meet.

make friends become

hacer amigos

friends
make fun of laugh at,

easily.
burlarse de

joke about
make no bones about

Anton makes new friends

He made fun of her German
accent.

no darle ms vueltas,

Ill make no bones about it:

it say/do openly, without no andar por las ramas

I dont like your attitude

hesitation

to work.

make room for allow

liberar espacio para

We can make room for one

space for

more dog.

make sense be logical tener sentido

What you say makes sense.

make the most of smth sacar lo mejor de

Lets make the most of our

do the best in the given

vacation.

situation
make up become

reconciliarse

friends again
make up for smth

make up.
recompensar

compensate
make up ones mind

Im tired of fighting. Lets

Ill make up for the time you
spent on it.

tomar una decisin

decide

When will you go? Make

up your mind.

make yourself at home sintete como en tu casa Come in please. Make

be comfortable, feel

yourself at home.

at home
man of his word one

el hombre de palabra

You can depend on his

who keeps promises,

promise to help. Hes a man

is dependable

of his word.

mean well have good

tener buenas intenciones He meant well, but it turned

intentions

out that he spoiled a couple

of things for me.

might as well a good

podras aprovechar

idea

y hacerlo (es buena idea him now.

hacer algo)

I might as well telephone

missing person

persona desaparecida

The little boy disappeared.

someone who is lost and

The police registered him

cant be located

as a missing person.

meet someone halfway encontrar un trmino

Hes reasonable and tries

compromise with others

to meet his coworkers

medio

halfway, when possible.

never mind it doesnt

olvdalo, no importa

Thank you. Never mind.

sin mencionar

We have three dogs, not

matter
not to mention
in addition to
no wonder not

to mention two cats.

no es una sorpresa

surprising
now and again

He ate three big fish.

No wonder hes sick.

de vez en cuando

I meet them now and again

occasionally

at the bank.

odds and ends a varietyrestos, pedacitos

I needed to buy some odds

of small unimportant things

and ends for the kitchen.

or leftovers
of the cuf without

de improviso, sin

Off the cuff, I can give you

preparation

preparacin previa

only a rough estimate.

of the point beside the no va al caso, fuera

What I think about him is off

point

de la cuestin

the point.

of the record not for

extraoficialmente

Strictly off the record, I think

the public, unofficially

the director is going to get

married soon.

once and for all

de una vez por todas

You must quit smoking once

decidedly

and for all.

on credit not pay cash a crdito

He bought a car on credit.

right away
on edge nervous,
irritable

nervioso, irritado

Hes been on edge ever

since she left.

on guard on the alert

en guardia, alerta

Hes cautious and always

on guard.

on hand available

a la mano

Do you have a calculator

on hand?

on ones own alone,

por su cuenta,

She likes to live and work

by oneself

independientemente

on her own.

on ones toes alert,

alerta

He was on his toes and

attentive, prepared for

produced a very good

difficulties

impression on them.

on purpose intentionally a propsito,

I didnt do it on purpose,

on second thought

intencionalmente

it just happened so.

pensndolo bien

Id like to sit on the aisle.

after thinking again

On second thought, Id like

a window seat.

on the alert on guard

alerta, en guardia

Hes cautious and always

on the alert.

on the carpet called

llamar al despacho del

in by the boss for criticism director, llamar

la atencin, criticar

Yesterday the boss called

her on the carpet for being
rude to the coworkers.

on the go busy, on the en marcha, en movimientoHe is always on the go.

move
on the of chance

es poco probable pero

unlikely to happen, but still

On the off chance that you

dont find him at work,
heres his home address.

on the other hand

por otro lado

Id like to have a dog.

considering the other side

On the other hand, my wife

of the question

likes cats better.

on the spot right there en el mismo sitio

I decided to do it on the
spot.

on the spur of the

en la euforia del momento He bought this car on the

moment without

spur of the moment, now

previous thought / plan

on time punctual

he regrets it.
a tiempo

out of ones mind crazy loco, fuera de s

Jim is always on time.

If you think so, youre out
of your mind.

out of ones way away desviado del camino,

I cant give you a lift to the

from someones usual route fuera del camino

bank, its out of my way

today.

out of the question

fuera de la cuestin

Paying him is out of the

impossible

question!

pack rat a person who acumulador obsesivo

Why does she keep all

saves lots of unnecessary

those things she never

things

uses? She is a pack rat.

pay attention

prestar atencin

Pay attention to his words.

pick a fight start

empezar una

He often tries to pick a fight

a quarrel

pelea/discusin

with me.

pick up take, get

elegir, recoger

Ill pick you up at 7.

be attentive

play ones cards right jugar bien sus cartas

If you play your cards right,

choose the right steps

hell agree to your plan.

in doing something
potluck supper

You know what happened

una cena en grupo donde at our last potluck supper?

nobody knows what dishes cada quien trae lo que
Everybody brought
quiere
other guests will bring
macaroni and cheese,
a surprise meal, where

apples, and beer!

pull oneself together

sobreponerse

Stop crying and

brace oneself, summon

complaining! You have

your strength

to pull yourself together

now.

pull the wool over

someones eyes

engaar

Are you trying to pull the

wool over my eyes? It wont

deceive, mislead someone

put a damper on

do you any good.

poner un freno a

discourage

She always puts a damper

on my plans.

put in a word for

defender a alguien con

someone say positive

palabras, decir algo bueno could put in a word for

things about someone

acerca de alguien

me when you speak to him.

put of postpone

posponer

Dont put it off till tomorrow.

put ones foot down

oponerse fuertemente

Her father put his foot down

object strongly

Id be very grateful if you

when she said she wanted

to marry Alan.

put ones foot in it

meter la pata; decir /hacer He put his foot in it when

do the wrong thing, make

algo estpido

a fool of oneself
put up with accept,

daughter wasnt pretty.

aguantar, tolerar

tolerate
quite a bit of much,

he told the boss his

I cant put up with your bad
work!

mucho

I had quite a bit of trouble

a lot of

with that car.

quite a few many, a lot muchos

He wrote quite a few good

of

stories.

rack ones brain try

esforzar el cerebro

He racked his brain to solve

hard to think

the puzzle.

read between the lines leer entre lneas

His books are not easy

find or understand the

to understand; you have

implied meaning

to read between the lines.

remember me to say

enviar saludos

Please remember

hello to

me to your family.

right away immediately de inmediato

It very important
to do it right away.

ring a bell remind

se parece a algo, luce

Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings

someone of something

familiar

a bell, but I cant place

familiar /half-forgotten

it right now.

rock the boat make the causar problemas,

Peter always rocks the boat

situation unstable

desestabilizar una

when we discuss companys

situacin

spending policy.

codearse

He doesnt rub shoulders

rub shoulders with

meet with
rub someone the wrong

with the rich.

irritar, molestar a alguien His remarks rub many

way irritate, annoy, make

coworkers the wrong way.

angry
run into meet by chanceencontrarse a alguien por I ran into an old friend
casualidad

yesterday.

save face try to change rescatar la reputacin

He said a stupid thing and

the negative impression

tried to save face by saying

produced

he misunderstood me.

save ones breath stop ahorrarse las palabras

Theres no use talking

useless talk

to him about his spending

habits, so save your breath.

scratch the surface

no profundizar en el tema, He examines all the facts

study something

estudiar de manera

closely, he doesnt just

superficially

superficial

scratch the surface.

see about make

ocuparse de

I have to see about our

arrangements for
see eye to eye agree

plane tickets.
compartir un mismo punto We dont see eye to eye any
de vista con alguien

longer.

serve someone right

recibir lo que uno

It serves him right that

get what someone

se merece

he didnt get this job,

deserves

he despised all other

candidates.

serve ones purpose

servir al propsito

I doubt that hiring this man

be useful to someone for

de alguien, ser til para

will serve your purpose.

his purpose

el propsito de alguien

show promise

mostrar esperanza

This young actor shows

be promising
show up appear

promise.
aparecer

I waited for hours but

he didnt show up.

size up evaluate

evaluar

someone
sleep on it postpone

It took me 5 minutes to size

up that man.

posponer algo hasta

Dont decide now, sleep

a decision till next morning la maana siguiente

on it.

a slip of the tongue

error, equivocacin,

It was just a slip of the

a mistake

lapsus

tongue!

slip (from) ones mind olvidar

It slipped my mind what she

forget

asked me.

smell a rat suspect

sospechar algo

something
so far up to now

Im not sure what it is, but I

smell a rat.

hasta ahora

So far, I have read 3 books

by King.

so much the better its an mejor

If he can pay cash, so much

even better

the better.

spill the beans tell

soltar la sopa, decir

Who spilled the beans about

a secret

un secreto

our plan?

stand a chance have

tener una oportunidad

He doesnt stand a chance

a chance

of getting it.

stand out be noticeable destacarse

He stands out in any group

of people.

stand to reason
be logical
straight from the
shoulder speak frankly

ser lgico

It stands to reason that

he apologized.

sin rodeos, abiertamente Dont try to spare

my feelings, give
it to me straight from the
shoulder.

take a dim view

tener una opinin negativaMy sister takes a dim view

of something

acerca de algo

disapprove of something
take a break stop for

of the way I raise

my children.

tomar una pausa

Lets take a break, Im tired.

rest
take advantage of use aprovecharse de

We took advantage of the

for ones own benefit,

low prices and bought

to profit from

a computer and a monitor.

take after be like one

parecerse a los padres

of the parents

Tom takes after his father

in character, and after his
mother in appearance.

take a stand

tomar una posicin firme People need to take a stand

on something make

respecto a algo

a firm opinion/decision

on the issue of nuclear

weapons.

on smth.
take care of look after, cuidar de

Can you take care

protect, see that smth.

of my dog while Im away?

is done properly

Tom takes good care of his

car.

take hold of something tomar, sujetar

Take hold of this rope and

take, hold

pull.

take into account

tomar en cuenta

consider smth.
take it easy relax,

her old age.

no te preocupes

be calm
take (it) for granted

You must take into account

Take it easy, everything will
be OK.

dar por sentado

accept as given

Mothers love is always

taken for granted
by children.

take ones breath away

dejarlo a uno sin aliento

That great view took

my breath away.

take ones time

tomarte tu tiempo, hacer Dont hurry. Take your time.

do slowly

algo despacio, sin prisa

take ones word for it

creer en la palabra

Take my word for it, he wont

believe

de alguien, creerle

go there.

a alguien
take pains try hard

esmerarse

to do it well
take part

report perfect.
tomar parte, participar

in smth. participate in
take place happen

He took pains to make his

Mary is going to take part
in the show.

tomar lugar, suceder

The accident took place

on Oak Street.

take someones mind of distraer a alguien de sus Go to a concert or a movie

things distract from

pensamientos

to take your mind off things.

tomar medidas, actuar

We need to take steps

fixed ideas/thoughts
take steps take
action /measures
take the words right out

against it.
quitar las palabras

I was about to say the

of ones mouth say the de la boca (decir algo que same! You took the words
same before somebody

quera decir otra persona) right out of my mouth.

else says it
take time take a long

tomar tiempo

It takes time to get used

time

to a new place.

take time of be absent tomar un da libre

He took time off to attend

from work

the wedding.

take turns alternate

cambiar turnos, hacer

We went to Minsk by car.

doing something one after algo por turnos

We didnt get tired because

another

we took turns driving

talk back answer rudely replicar, responder

Dont talk back to the

insolentemente

teacher!

talk it over discuss

discutir

Ill talk it over with my family.

tell apart see the

distinguir

Can you tell the twins apart?

Este es el punto.

Thats just the point! I hate

difference
Thats just the

point. Thats it.

this job!

the writing on the wall premonicin (de algo

The plane crashed. Tim said

a sign of future events

he saw the writing on the

malo)

(usually, trouble)

wall about this flight.

not think much of think tener un concepto bajo

I dont think much of her

low

de alguien

cooking.

think over consider

pensar en detalle,

Think over your answer.

carefully

considerar

Think it over carefully.

till one is blue in the

esforzarse demasiado

I repeated it till I was blue

face try hard

to make a long story

in the face!
en pocas palabras

To make a long story short,

short in short

we won.

to say the least to make para no decir ms

The film was boring and

the minimum comment

long, to say the least.

about smth.
try on put on new

probarse (la ropa)

Try on this leather coat, its

clothes to test them for size

very good. She tried it on,

or look

but it didnt fit her at all.

try ones hand

probar algo, probar suerte I want to try my hand

at something try

con algo

at painting.

turn on / of switch on / encender/apagar

Turn on the radio. Turn off

off

the water.

turn out to be result/endresultar

He turned out to be a very

this way

good actor.

turn over a new leaf

empezar de nuevo, hacer He promises to turn over

make a fresh start in life,

borrn y cuenta nueva

a new leaf and quit alcohol

work, etc.

for good.

turn the tide reverse the cambiar el curso de los

The new evidence turned

course of events

the tide, and the defendant

eventos

was acquitted of charges.

twist ones arm make

retorcer brazos, obligar

They twisted his arm to sell

to agree

a alguien a hacer algo

the house.

en contra de su voluntad
under the weather feel resfriado

Im a little under the weather

ill

today.

up-and-coming

prometedor

He is an up-and-coming

showing promise of future

young lawyer who might

success

help you with your case.

up in arms hostile to,

protestar, estar en contra The employees are

in strong protest against

up in arms about the new

something

retirement rules.

up in the air undecided colgado en el aire,

My vacation plans are still

up to par equal

indefinido

up in the air.

adecuado y normal

His behavior isnt up to par.

in standard
used to did often in the sola (hacer algo)

I used to play the piano

past, but not now

when I was in school (but I

dont play it now).

walk on air be very

estar en las nubes, estar He got the job and

happy

muy feliz

is walking on air now.

waste ones breath

esforzarse en vano

Dont waste your breath

speak uselessly,

trying to make him do it,

to no purpose

he wont change his mind.

watch ones step

tener cuidado, ser

be careful

cauteloso

watch out look out,

tener cuidado

be careful
wet blanket a kill-joy,

Watch your step!

Watch out for that car!
Watch out!

aguafiestas

who spoils everybodys fun

Remember what a wet

blanket he was last time?
Please dont invite him
again.

Whats the

Qu pasa?

Whats the matter? What

matter? What is it?

happened?

which way the wind

cul es la situacin real

He knows which way the

blows what the real

(en qu direccin sopla

wind blows and always acts

situation is

el viento)

accordingly.

white lie unimportant lie mentira piadosa

A white lie is told to spare

your feelings.

word for word in the

literalmente

same words
would rather prefer

Tell me word for word what

he said.

preferir

Id rather stay at home

today.