Spanish Idioms - A Flashcards Part 1

on board Los pasajeros están todos a bordo. The passengers are all on board.

on horseback Los conquistadores entraron a la ciudad a caballo. The conquistadores entered the city on horseback.

at every moment Elena se asomaba por la ventana a cada instante. Elena appeared through the window at every moment.

in the open Él disparó la pistola a campo raso. He fired the gun out in the open.

cats and dogs (to rain) Ayer en la noche estaba lloviendo a cántaros. Last night it was raining cats and dogs.

home (to go) Ve a casa. Go home.

because of Él falleció al llegar al hospital a causa de la pérdida de sangre. He died while arriving at the hospital because of loss of blood.

blindly Mis amigos me planearon una cita a ciegas. My friends planned a blind date for me.

with complete certainty Sabía a ciencia cierta el resultado del problema. I knew with certainty the result of the problem.

on credit Los dueños de la casa compraron la estufa The house owners bought the stove

right and left El gerente despidió a los empleados a diestra y siniestra. The manager fired the employees right and left.

in contrast to; unlike

with great difficulty A duras penas logré sacar el sarro de la tina. I hardly got the scale off the bathtube.

on the sly Pedrito se cortó el pelo a escondidas. Pedrito cut his hair on the sly.

at about + time El paquete lo trajeron a eso de las 4 de la tarde. They brought the package at about 4pm.

with the exception of Todos trajeron su tarea a excepción de Luis. Everybody brought their homework but Luis.

in favor of Los que estén a favor de la moción por favor levanten su mano. The ones in favor of the motion please raise your hand.

after all Ella se comió la pizza con aceitunas a fin de cuentas. She ate the pizza with olives after all.

in order to La maestra explicó de nuevo la operación a fin de que Julio entendiera. The teacher explained the operation in order for Julio to understand.

late in Vamos a ir a la playa a finales de junio. We are going to the beach late in June.

at the end of Recibirá su pago de horas extras a fines de mes. You will receive your extra hour payment at the end of the month.

thoroughly Teresa hizo una limpieza a fondo de la cocina. Teresa did a thorough clean of the kitchen.

by dint of Logró su riqueza a fuerza de mucho trabajo y esfuerzo. He obtained his wealth by dint of much work and effort.

on all fours El borracho llegó a gatas a su cama. The drunk man got to his bed on all fours.

at ease El novia de la hija no se sentía muy a gusto en la casa de los padres de ella. The daughter's boyfriend didn't feel very much at ease at her parent's house.

by force Manuel quiso besar a Lucrecia a la fuerza. Manuel wanted to kiss Lucrecia by force.

in the long run A la larga tuvimos que hacer doble trabajo. In the long run we had to do double work.

in style Amanda tiene 65 años y siempre anda a la moda. Amanda is 65 years old and she is always in style.

at the same time Tienes que cocinar las papas y a la vez fríes la carne. You have to cook the potatoes and at the same time you fry the beef.

around the corner Mis primos viven a la vuelta de mi casa. My cousins live around the corner from my house.