Lost in translation

Learning expressions and idioms is probably the most interesting part about learning a second language. Anyone can pick up a Spanish-English dictionary and translate a word from one language to another- the tricky part is learning the sayings and expressions. Once in a blue moon, a piece of cake, raining cats and dogs, counting your chickens before they hatch, green thumb, hit the hay, translate any of these word for word to Spanish and no one will have any idea what you´re talking about!

Here´s some new Spanish idioms I´ve learned this month:

UN BUEN PARTIDO- a catch, literally translates as "a good game". It´s used the same way as we would in English: someone rich, handsome, smart es un buen partido.

ME SACAN DE MIS CASILLAS- They´re driving me crazy! or They´re driving me up a wall. Literally translates more or less as "They´re taking me out of my boxes" and is used quite frequently when you work with 6-year-olds all day long. 

ESTAR EN TU SALSA- To be in your element, this one literally translates as "to be in your sauce." 

PAN DE MOLDE (pronounced mol-day)- sliced bread, literally "bread from a mold" because the bread comes perfectly shaped from a mold. Not an idiom technically, but I had to share since I get a laugh out of this one whenever I hear it. As an English speaker it´s impossible to break the association with the other kind of mold. Moldy bread, yum!

EDAD DEL PAVO- teenage years or adolescence, translates as "age of the turkey" or "age of the peacock" (peacock in Spanish is pavo real). The explanation I got was that teenagers are like peacocks,  parading around and showing off their feathers. 

VA A PEDALES- to go really slowly, I don´t think we don´t have a fun way of saying this in English. Translates to "go at pedals" basically meaning its going so slowly that it´s like you have to manually pedal to get it move (think when your internet takes 10 minutes to load a page, it´s like riding a bike up a hill). 

And now a few that are identical to English!

MATAR DOS PAJAROS CON UN TIRO- Literally translates to "to kill two birds with one shot." Close enough!

LE DIJO LA SARTÉN AL CAZO, "APARTA, QUE ME TIZNAS"- Translates to "the frying pan said to the pot: get away, you´re staining me black." Or as we say in English, the pot calling the kettle black.