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Expresiones idiomáticas
con sus sinónimos
Traducción Ejemplo
after a ll — despite,
nevertheless
después d e todo, al n
y a l cabo
I knew it! After all, I was
right!
all along — all the time todo el tiempo I knew about his little secret
all along.
all ears — eager to listen todo oídos I am all ears.
all of a sudden —
suddenly
de repente, de pronto All of a sudden, he refused
to pay.
all the s ame —
no difference
da igual, lo mismo;
de todos modos
If it’s all the same to you,
let’s start at two.
all thumbs — clumsy torpe He can’t x anything, he’s all
thumbs.
apple o f discord —
subject of envy or quarrel
manzana de la d iscordia This qu estion is an apple
of discord in our family.
as a rule — usually como regla general As a rule, we offer a 5%
discount.
as far as I amconcerned —
in my opinion
en lo que a mí respecta As far as I am concerned,both the book a nd the movie
are good.
as for me/as t o me —
in my opinion
en cuanto a mí As for me, you can rely
on his su pport.
as w ell — also, too también He knows math, and
physics a s w ell.
at all — (not) in thesmallest degree
en lo más m ínimo,en absoluto
He doesn’t know Frenchat all. I don’t like it at all.
at random — without order al azar He chose those places
at random.
at this point — at this t ime a estas alturas At this point, we can’t turn
back.
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be ab out to — ready
(to do)
estar a punto de I was about to leave when
you called.
be after someone —
insist, press
estar tras alguien; insistir,
presionar
His m other is a lways a fter
him to study.be all in — be extremely
tired
estar hecho polvo I’m all in, I’d better go to bed
now.
be back o n one’s feet —
healthy a gain or better
nancially
recuperarse después
de un tiempo difícil;
ponerse de pie o tra vez
He’s b ack on his f eet after
a long period of debt and
unemployment.
beat around the bush —
avoid giving a clear/denite
answer
irse por las ramas Stop beating around the
bush! Get to the point!
be beside oneself —
be very upset, nervous,
worried, etc.
estar fuera de sí She was beside herself with
worry / with grief.
be better off —
be in a better situation
estar en una m ejor
situación
He’ll be better off with a new
job.
be broke — have
no money at all
estar en bancarrota I spent all my money, I’m
broke.be hard on something
/someone — treat roughlyser duro co n a lgo/alguien My son is ha rd on shoes,
they d on’t last long with him.
Life was p retty hard on Tom.
be h igh on one’s l ist —
be one o f the most
important things
encabezar la lista de los
asuntos i mportantes
A new car is h igh on my list
of priorities. A new TV is n ot
high on my list.
be in charge o f —
be r esponsible for
estar a cargo de, ser
responsable d e
He is in charge
of marketing.
be in the red — be in debt estar en deuda, estar
quebrado
Our sales w ere in the red
last year.
be into
smth. — be interested in
estar
interesado/apasionado por
He is into computers. She
is into sports.
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algo
bend over backwards —
try hard
hacer todo lo que
se pueda
I bent over backwards
to help her.
be on one’s way estar en el camino I’m on my way.be o n the sa fe s ide — not
to take any ch ances
para mayor seguridad Take an extra key, just
to be on the safe side.
be out of — be without estar fuera de, estar
desabastecido, no tener
We are out of bread,
cheese, and sugar.
be out of shape —
be physically unt
no estar en forma / estar
en mala condición física
He needs to exercise,
he is o ut of shape.
be o ut of sorts — in bad
humor
estar de mal humor Leave him alone, he’s out
of sorts today
be p ressed for time /
money — be short of; not
have enough
estar presionado por
tiempo/dinero (no tener
suciente tiempo/dinero
por el momento)
I’m pressed for time now.
We a re pressed f or money
at the moment.
beside the p oint — off the
point
ajeno a la cuestión,
no va al caso
What I said to him privately
is beside the point.
be to blame —
be responsible for
a mistake / something
wrong
ser culpable Who is to blame for this
awful mistake? Tom
is t o blame for this m ix-up.
be touch and go —
be uncertain of the result
pender de un hilo He was very sick, and for
some time it was t ouch
and go, but he is b etter now.
be up against —be opposed b y, have
problems, be in danger
enfrentar ( a algo/alguien),encontrarse ante
problemas
Our company is up againstserious attempts of hostile
takeover.
be up and
around/about — able
to be out of bed after
volver a andar,
recuperarse (después
de una enfermedad)
He was si ck for a month, but
now he is up an d around.
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an illness
be u p to one’s e ars —
very busy
estar muy ocupado I’m up to my ears in work.
be up to something —do mischief
estar tramando algo I have to check what thekids a re up to.
be up t o someone —
be one’s ow n decision
or responsibility
ser decisión de alguien,
corresponderle a alguien
It’s up to you to decide. It’s
up to you to close t he office
every d ay at 8 o’clock.
be used to —
be accustomed to
estar acostumbrado a I’m used to hard work. He’s
used to heat.
big shot — important
person
persona importante He is a b ig shot around
here.
bite off more than one
can chew — try to do more
than one can
sobrevalorar tus fuerzas
(«morder más de lo que
puedes m asticar»)
I couldn’t handle two jobs
and family. I really bit off
more than I could ch ew.
bite o ne’s t ongue — stop
talking
morderse la lengua, dejar
de hablar
I almost told her, but bit
my tongue.
bite the dust — die,
be defeated
morder el polvo, morir Many of them bit the dust
in that war.
black sh eep — a good-for-
nothing member of the
family
oveja negra Their second son is the
black sheep of the family,
he is g ood for nothing.
blind date — a meeting
of a man and woman
arranged by friends
cita a ciegas She refuses to go on a blind
date a gain because she had
bad experience.
blow it — lose the cha nce perder la oportunidad He understood thathe blew it.
blow over — pass, end pasar Wait here till his anger
blows o ver.
bottom line — main
result/factor
resultado The bottom line is, I don’t
have enough m oney.
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break into — enter
by force
entrar por la fuerza,
penetrar
The police broke into the
robber’s h ouse.
break one’s h eart — hurt
deeply
romper el corazón
de alguien
The news of her death
broke his h eart.break t he i ce — overcome
shyness i n making the rst
step
romper el hielo (superar
la timidez y d ar el primer
paso)
The party was d ull until
someone b roke the ice w ith
a joke a nd we all laughed.
break the news — tell new
facts
difundir la información CNN is breaking the news
right now.
bring home the bacon —
earn the living for the family
proveer a la familia He works very hard
at several places t o bring
home the bacon.
brush off — give
no attention to
no hacer caso The boss brushed off
my project again.
brush up on — review repasar, refrescar
la memoria
You need to brush up on the
tenses.
by all means -denitely,
certainly
denitivamente, por
supuesto
Do you need m y help?
— By all means.
by heart — by memorizing de memoria Learn this poem by heart fortomorrow.
by hook or by crook —
by any means po ssible
como sea She will get what she wants
by hook or by crook.
by the way — incidentally por cierto By the way, Ann is coming
back today.
call a sp ade a s pade —
use plain, direct words
llamar a las co sas p or
su nombre
He always tells t he truth and
calls a spade a spade.call it a day — consider
work nished for the day
considerar el trabajo
terminado
We’ve b een working for
10 straight hours. Let’s call
it a day.
call off — cancel cancelar The police called off the
search.
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carry out — fulll realizar, cumplir She never carries out her
plans.
carry weight —
be important
tener peso en, inuir, ser
importante
His a dvice always ca rries
weight here.cast down — depressed,
sad
desanimar He was cast down by the
bad news.
castles in the air —
daydreaming about
success
(construir) c astillos
en el aire
Instead of working hard,
he spends t ime building
castles in the air.
catch one’s ey e — attract
attention
llamar la atención This picture caught my eye.
catch one’s b reath — stop
and rest
recobrar el aliento I can’t run, I need to catch
my breath.
catch someone off
guard — catch someone
unprepared
tomar por sorpresa He caught me off guard with
his question.
catch someone red-
handed — nd smb. in the
act of doing wrong
sorprender a alguien con
las manos en l a masa
The manager caught the
boy red-handed when
he was stealing cigarettes.catch up — become not
behind
ponerse al día He needs to catch up with
the others.
close call — a narrow
escape, a bad thing that
almost happened
por poco suce de algo
malo (escaparse por
milagro)
The speeding car almost hit
the man. That was r eally
a close call.
come across — meet
by chance
encontrar I came across that article
yesterday.
come down with —
become ill
caer resfriado I’m coming down with
a cold.
come to one’s senses —
start acting reasonably,
intelligently
entrar en razón He nally came to his
senses, started to work
hard, and passed his
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exams.
come true — become
reality
volverse realidad My dream came true when I
met Pat.
come up w ith — suggest proponer Mike came up with a brilliantidea.
count on — depend on contar con You can always count
on me for help.
cut corners — to take
a short-cut; to limit one’s
spending
buscar atajos, omitir
procedimientos
He ran fast, cutting corners
where he could. I have
to cut corners t his w eek.
cut down on — reduce reducir el consumo You have to cut down
on ch ocolate.
cut out to be /cut out for
it — have the ability
to do so mething
estar hecho para (algún
trabajo)
She isn’t cut out
to be a surgeon. He’s cu t
out to be a leader.
do one’s b est — try ver y
hard
dar lo mejor de sí I did my best to help him
in his w ork.
do one’s b it — do what’s
needed
aportar su granito
de arena; hacerlo necesario
I’ll do my bit, you can count
on me.
do over — do again rehacer This work is not good,
do it over.
do someone good —
be good for
beneciar Fresh air and exercise will
do you good.
do something behind
one’s back — do (harmful)things secretively
hacer algo a espaldas
de uno
I hate people who do things
behind my back. He d idit behind my back again.
do without — live without vivir sin, prescindir I’ll have to do without a car
for a while.
down to earth — practical práctico, realista He’s quiet, sensible and
down to e arth.
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draw the l ine — x a l imit trazar la línea, limitar He drew the line for her
at $100 a day.
dress u p — put on the best
clothes
ponerse la mejor ropa What are you dressed
up for?drop off — deliver
somewhere
llevar (a una persona
a un lugar), dejar (a una
persona en un lugar)
Can you d rop me off at the
bank?
drop out — quit (school) abandonar He dropped out of school
last year.
duty calls — must fulll
obligations
el deber llama He said, «Duty calls» and
left for work.
easier said than done es m ás fácil decir que
hacerlo
It’s e asier said than done,
but I’ll try to do it.
eat one’s w ords — take
back words
tragarse las palabras He had to eat his words
after her report.
even so — nevertheless,
but
aún así I work hard. Even so, I like
my job.
every now and then
-occasionally
de vez en cuando Every now and then I visit
my old aunt.
every o ther day — every
second one
cada dos d ías; un día
sí y un día no
She washes h er hair every
other day.
fall behind — lag behind quedarse atrás The little boy fell behind the
older boys.
fall in love — begin to love enamorarse Tom fell in love with Sue
at rst sight.
fall out of love — stoploving
dejar de amar They fell out of love anddivorced soon.
false alarm — untrue
rumor
falsa alarma I heard he quit but it was
a false alarm.
a far cry f rom muy lejos de ser algo, His second book wasn’t
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something — very
different, almost opposite
(neg.)
muy diferente a lo que
creías
bad, but it was a far cry f rom
his rst book.
feel it in one’s bones —expect something bad
to happen
tener una co razonada(presentimiento)
Something bad is g oingto happen, I feel
it in my b ones.
feel like doing
something — want to do,
be inclined to do smth.
antojarse de hacer algo,
sentir ganas d e hacer algo
I feel like going for a walk.
I don’t feel like working now,
I’m tired.
feel up to — be able to do tener ánimo para h acer
algo
I don’t feel up to cleaning
the house.
few and far between —
rare, scarce
muy pocos, escasos Her visits are few and far
between.
nd fault with — criticize encontrar fallos, criticar He always n ds f aults w ith
everybody.
nd out — learn
or discover
averiguar, descubrir I found out that Maria left
town.
rsthand — directly from
the source
de primera mano You can trust it, it’s rsthand
information.rst things rst —
important things co me
before others
primero lo primero First things rst: how much
money do we have to pay
right away?
y off the ha ndle — get
angry
perder los estribos He ew off the handle and
yelled at me.
follow in someone’s
footsteps — do the same
thing
seguir los p asos d e otro Igor followed in his f ather’s
footsteps, he became
a doctor, too.
foot in the door —
a special opportunity for
a job
tener un pie adentro (tener
una oportunidad
de trabajo)
Nina got a foot in the door
because h er friend works
in that company.
foot the bill — pay the bill pagar Her father footed the bill for
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the party.
for good — forever para siempre After her death, he left town
for good.
for the time being —at this time
por el momento, por ahoraFor the time being, thishouse is all right for us.
frame of mind — mental
state
estado de ánimo I can’t do it in this frame
of mind.
from A to Z — completely conocer algo de pe a p a;
de cabo a rabo
He knows this town from A
to Z.
from now on — now and
in the future
desde ahora, a partir
de ahora
From now on, I forbid you
to go there.
get a g rip on oneself —
take control of one’s
feelings
obtener control sobre
sí mismo
Stop crying! Get a grip
on yourself!
get along with — have
good relations
llevarse bien con Ann gets along with most
coworkers, but doesn’t get
along with Laura.
get away with — not
be caught after doingwrong
evitar el castigo, escapar
de la justicia
The police didn’t nd the
thief. He got away w ith hiscrime.
get carried away — get
too excited and enthusiastic
about something
entusiasmarse He got carried away with
opening a store and lost
most of his money.
get cold feet — be afraid
to do
entrarle miedo a alguien I wanted to try it but got cold
feet.
get even with — haveone’s r evenge
desquitarse I’ll get even with him foreverything!
get in touch with —
contact
contactar a alguien Get in touch with Mr. Smith
for help.
get lost — lose one’s way perderse She got lost in the old part
of town.
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Get lost! — Lay off! ¡Vete! ¡Desaparécete!
¡Lárgate!
I don’t want to see you
again. Get lost!
get mixed up — get
confused
confundir I got mixed up, went the
wrong way a nd got lost.get off one’s b ack — leave
alone
dejar a alguien en p az Stop bothering me! Get off
my back!
get on one’s h igh
horse — behave haughtily
towards someone
actuar como si fueras
mejor que o tras p ersonas,
ser engreído
Every time I ask h er to help
me with typing, she gets
on her high horse.
get on (the bus, train,
plane)
subir (el transporte) I got on the bus on O ak
Street.
get off (the bus, train,
plane)
bajar (el transporte) I got off the bus at the bank.
get out of hand — get out
of control
salirse de las m anos,
fuera de control
If he gets o ut of hand again,
call me right away.
get over — recover after
an illness or bad
experience
recuperarse después
de una enfermedad
o mala experiencia,
superar
I can’t get over how rude
he was to me. She got over
her i llness quite quickly.
get rid of — dispose o f,
discard
deshacerse He got rid of his old useless
car.
get together — meet with reunirse My friends and I get
together often.
get to the bottom — know
deeply
llegar al fondo de algo He usually gets to the
bottom of things.
get to the p oint — getto the matter
ir al grano Get to the point!
Give me a br eak! — spare
me
¡Dame un respiro!
¡Déjame!
Come on, stop it! Give
me a br eak!
give someone a hand —
help
dar la mano, ayudar Can you give me a hand
with cooking?
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give someone
a lift /a ride — take
to so me p lace by car
llevar a a lguien en auto Can you give m e a lift to the
bank? He g ave he r a ride
in his ne w Porsche.
give someone a pi eceof one’s m ind — criticize
frankly
criticar, decir a biertamentelo que p iensas
She lost my umbrella again,so I gave her a piece
of my mind about her
carelessness.
give up — stop doing
something, stop trying
to do so mething
rendirse I gave up smoking. I gave
up trying to x my o ld car.
go back on one’s word —
break a promise
romper
la palabra/promesa
First he said he would
help me, but then he wentback on h is word.
go for it — try to do a new
thing
intentar algo nuevo If I were you, I would
go for i t.
go from bad to worse —
be worse
ir de mal en peor His business went from bad
to worse.
go out — go to parties,
movies
salir (de esta, al cine,
etc.)
Do he and h is wife g o out
often?go out of one’s w ay -try
very h ard
poner mucho e sfuerzo,
intentar mucho
He goes ou t of his way
to please her.
go to one’s h ead — make
too proud
subirse a la cabeza
(éxito), sentirse
demasiado orgulloso
His ac ting su ccess w ent
to his h ead.
go to pieces — get very
upset, fall apart
derrumbarse, quedar
deshecho
She went to pieces w hen
she heard it.
go with the ow — lead
quiet l ife
ir con la corriente She always goes with the
ow.
grow on someone —
become liked
gustar poco a poco When she knew him more,
he grew on her.
had better — should más vale que You look ill, you’d better see
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a doctor.
have a ball — have a good
time
pasarla bien Yesterday we had a ball
at the party.
have a b one to pick —complain or discuss
something unpleasant
tener una cuenta queajustar
Mr. Brown, I have a boneto pick with you. My m ail
was l ost because of you.
have a w ord with
someone — talk to
hablar con alguien Can I have a word with you?
have words with
someone — argue with
someone about something
hablar muy seriamente
con alguien /discutir
I had words with
my coworker today beca use
he used my computer again.
have it in him — have the
ability
tener habilidades Laura has it in her
to be a good doctor.
have no business d oing
something — have no r ight
to do
no e s t u asunto, no tienes
derecho de (estar aquí,
hacer esto, etc.)
You have no business
staying here without
my permission.
have o ne’s b ack to the
wall — be hard-pressed,
on the defensive
estar entre la espada
y la pared
I had no choice, I had
my back to the wall.
have o ne’s h ands full —
very busy
estar muy ocupado He has his hands full with
hard work.
have one’s h eart set
on something — want
something very much
querer algo demasiado,
ansiar algo
She has he r heart set
on going to New York.
He has h is h eart set
on Betty.
have p ull — have inuence
on
inuir, pesar Does he have pull with the
director?
(not) have the heart —
(not) have the courage
to do sm th. unpleasant
(no) atreverse a hacer
algo desagradable;
(no) tener corazón para
I don’t have the heart to tell
him that he wasn’t accepted,
he’ll be s o unhappy.
high and low — en todas partes I searched high and low for
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everywhere (en el cielo y en la tierra,
cuando se reere
a búsquedas)
my lost cat.
hit the nail on the head —say e xactly t he right thing
acertar You hit the nail on the headwhen you sai d our company
needs a n ew director.
hit upon something —
to discover
pensar en algo; descubrirThey hit upon gold. I hit
upon a p lan.
hold it against
someone — blame
somebody for doing
something
guardar rencores
en contra de alguien;
culpar a alguien por algo
I lost his b ook, but
he doesn’t hold
it against me.
Hold it! — Stop! Wait! ¡Detente! ¡Espera! Hold it! I forgot my key.
Hold on! — Wait! ¡Espera! Hold on! I’ll be back
in a m inute.
hold one’s ow n —
maintain oneself
in a situation, behave
as needed
mantenerse rme He can hold his own in any
situation. We need men who
can hold their own.
hold up — rob using
a weapon
asaltar, atacar This bank was held up twice
last year.
ill at ease —
uncomfortable
disgustado, incómodo She felt ill at ease because
of her cheap dress.
in advance — well before de antemano He told her about his plan
in advance.
in a n utshell — in a f ew
words
en breve, en pocas
palabras
In a nutshell, my p lan
is t o buy land.
in care o f someone —
write to one person at the
address o f another
(escribir) a alguien
a la dirección de otra
persona (al cuidado de)
I’m staying at Tom’s h ouse.
Write to me in care of Tom
Gray, Chicago, Illinois.
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in cold blood —
mercilessly
a sangre fría He killed her in cold blood.
in fact — actually, in reality de hecho, en realidad In fact, he works
as a m anager here.in general — generally,
generally sp eaking
en general In general, he likes
to be a lone. He described
the place only in general.
in one’s el ement — what
one likes
estar como pez en el aguaHe’s in his el ement when
he’s a rguing.
in other words — using
other words
en otras palabras In other words, you refused
to do it for her.
in plain English —
in simple, frank t erms
sencillamente hablando I didn’t really like the
concert. In plain English, the
concert was terrible.
the ins a nd outs — all info
about
los pormenores He knows the ins and outs
of this b usiness.
in someone’s sho es —
in another person’s position
en los za patos d e alguién,
en lugar de otra persona
I’d hate to be in his s hoes
now. He lost his j ob, and his
wife is in the hospital.in the long run — in the
end
al nal de cuentas In the long run, it’ll be better
to buy it.
in the sam e boat — in the
same s ituation
en el mismo barco;
en la misma situacion
Stop arguing with me, we’re
in the same boat and should
help each other.
in the clear — free from
blame
estar fuera d e s ospecha Pay the b ill and you’ll
be in the clear.
in time
(to do something) —
before something begins
a tiempo (para hacer algo)I came in time to have a cup
of coffee b efore class.
it goes without saying —
should be clear without
no hace falta d ecir nada It goes without saying that
he must pay what he owes
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words right away.
It’s on the tip
of my tongue.
está en la punta
de mi lengua
His n ame is o n the tip
of my tongue.
it’s time — shoulddo it right away
es hora Hurry up, it’s time to go.
It’s worth it. / It’s not
worth it. I t’s (not) w orth
buying, visiting, watching,
etc.
lo vale / no lo vale
vale la pena / no vale
la p ena
Watch this lm, it’s worth it.
Don’t buy this coat, it is not
worth it. This m useum
is w orth visiting. This lm
is n ot worth watching.
it will do — it’s en ough es suciente Stop reading, it will do for
now.
jump at the
opportunity/chance —
accept the opportunity
eagerly
aprovechar la oportunidadHis b oss mentioned a job
in Europe, and Peter
jumped at the opportunity.
just as soon — prefer this
one
preferiría I’d just as soon stay home,
I’m tired.
just in case — to be o n thesafe side
por si acaso Take an extra shirt, justin case.
Just my luck! — Bad /
Hard luck!
¡Vaya suerte que tengo!
¡Qué mala su erte!
They lost my job application.
Just my luck!
keep an eye on — take
care of, watch, look after
estar pendiente; vigilar Betty keep s an eye
on my s ons for me. I’ll keep
an eye on you!
keep a straight face — not
to laugh
mantener la cara se ria I tried to ke ep a straight
face, but failed.
keep company —
accompany
hacer compañía She keeps me company
quite often.
keep one’s w ord — fulll
a p romise
mantener la palabra You promised, now keep
your word.
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keep someone posted —
inform
mantener a a lguien
al tanto / informado
Keep me posted about your
plans.
keep your ngers
crossed — hope thatnothing will go wrong
cruzar los dedos I have a j ob interview today.
Keep your ngers crossedfor me, will you?
kill time — ll/spend empty
time
matar el tiempo I went to the show to kill
time.
(not) know the rst thing
about — not to have any
knowledge about
no saber nada acerca de I don’t know the rst thing
about nuclear physics.
know the ropes — be very
familiar with some business
estar al tanto He knows all the ropes
in this co mpany.
last-minute notice — little
or no time to prepare for
something
noticia de útimo minuto His a rrival was a last-minute
notice, we didn’t have time
to prepare for it.
lay o ne’s c ards o n the
table — be frank and openponer las ca rtas so bre
la mesa; ser sincero
y abierto
Finally, we asked him to lay
his ca rds o n the table and
tell us a bout his p lans.
lay one’s life on theline — put oneself
in a dangerous s ituation
poner la vida en juego,arriesgar la vida
He laid his life on the lineto fulll this task, but nobody
appreciated his e fforts.
lead a dog’s life — live
in misery
llevar una vida d e perros He leads a dog’s life.
lead someone on — make
someone believe
something that isn’t true
engañar, hacer a alguien
creer que es c ierto
They su spect that you are
leading them on. You led
me on!
leave it at that — accept
reluctantly
dejar las co sas co mo s onLeave it at that, what else
can you do?
leave word — leave
a message
dejar un mensaje He left word for you to meet
him at the airport at 6.
let bygones lo pasado , pasado e stá Why don’t you let bygones
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be bygones — forget and
forgive bad things in the
past
be bygones an d forget
about what he said?
let go of — release t hehold
soltar, dejar ir Let go of my hand or I’ll callthe guard.
let ( it) go — forget bad
experience, return
to normal life
dejarlo ir, superar malas
experiencias
He’s still in despair and can’t
let (it) go. You can’t change
anything, so let it go.
let one’s hair down —
be relaxed and informal
with other people
soltarse la melena,
echarse una cana al aire,
relajarse
She is a lways so formal.
She never lets h er hair
down.
let someone down —
disappoint, fail someone
quedar mal con a lguien,
decepcionar a alguien
Don’t let me down this t ime!
let someone know —
inform
noticar, informar Let me know when you nd
a job.
like father, like son —
be like one’s p arent
in something
de tal palo, tal astilla Paul won a p rize in a ch ess
tournament. Great! Like
father, like son!
littl e by littl e — stepby s tep
poco a poco Little by little, he got usedto Tokyo.
look for — search for buscar What are you looking for?
look forward to — expect
with pleasure
esperar con impaciencia I’m looking forward to your
letter. Mary is looking
forward to the party.
look out — be careful,
watch out
tener cuidado Look out! The bus
is co ming!
look up — check with
/in a dictionary
or a reference book
buscar (información
en un diccionario, Internet,
etc.)
If you don’t know this w ord,
look it up in the dictionary.
lose o ne’s t emper —
become angry
perder la paciencia,
enojarse
He loses h is t emper very
often.
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lose o ne’s way — get lost perder el camino,
perderse
I lost my way. Can you
help me?
lose t rack o f — not
to know where someoneor something is
perder el hilo/la p ista I lost track of him years ag o.
lucky b reak — a lucky
chance
golpe de suerte He got his lucky break when
he got this job.
make a living — earn
money to provide for life
ganarse la vida He works hard. His family
is b ig, and he has to make
a living somehow.
make allowance for —
take into consideration
when judging
tener en cuenta Don’t criticize him so hard,
make (an) allowance for his
inexperience.
make a po int of — be sure
to do so mething
intentionally
poner empeño en (hacer
algo); hacer algo
intencionalmente; tender
a/intentar
Make a point of asking
about his w ife. Make
it a point to be here by 1 0.
make ends meet —
to have a nd spend onlywhat one ea rns
llegar a n de mes;
sobrevivir con pocosingresos
His d oesn’t get much
money. I wonder howhe manages to make ends
meet.
make friends — become
friends
hacer amigos Anton makes new friends
easily.
make fun of — laugh at,
joke about
burlarse de He made fun of her German
accent.
make no bon es about
it — say/do openly, without
hesitation
no darle más vu eltas,
no andar por las r amas
I’ll make no bones a bout it:
I don’t like your attitude
to work.
make room for — allow
space for
liberar espacio para We can make room for one
more dog.
make sense — be logical tener sentido What you say makes sense.
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make the most of smth —
do the best in the given
situation
sacar lo mejor de Let’s make the most of our
vacation.
make up — becomefriends a gain
reconciliarse I’m tired of ghting. Let’smake up.
make up f or smth —
compensate
recompensar I’ll make up for the time you
spent on it.
make up one’s mind —
decide
tomar una decisión When will you go? Make
up your mind.
make yourself at home —
be comfortable, feel
at home
siéntete como en t u casa Come in please. Make
yourself at home.
man of his word — one
who keeps promises,
is de pendable
el hombre de palabra You can depend on his
promise to help. He’s a man
of his w ord.
mean well — have good
intentions
tener buenas intenciones He meant well, but it turned
out that he spoiled a couple
of things f or me.
might as w ell — a goodidea
podrías ap rovechary ha cerlo (es b uena idea
hacer algo)
I might as w ell telephonehim now.
missing person —
someone who is lost and
can’t be located
persona desaparecida The little boy disappeared.
The police registered him
as a missing person.
meet someone halfway —
compromise w ith others
encontrar un término
medio
He’s r easonable and tries
to meet his co workers
halfway, when possible.
never mind — it doesn’t
matter
olvídalo, no importa Thank you. — Never mind.
not to mention —
in addition to
sin mencionar We have three dogs, not
to mention two cats.
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no wonder — not
surprising
no es una sorpresa He ate three big sh.
No wonder he’s si ck.
now and again —
occasionally
de vez en cuando I meet them now and again
at the bank.
odds and ends — a variety
of small unimportant things
or l eftovers
restos, pedacitos I needed to buy some odds
and ends for the kitchen.
off the cuff — without
preparation
de improviso, sin
preparación previa
Off the cuff, I can give yo u
only a rough estimate.
off the p oint — beside the
point
no va al caso, fuera
de la cuestión
What I think a bout him is o ff
the point.
off the record — not for
the public, unofficially
extraocialmente Strictly off the record, I think
the director is going to get
married soon.
once and for all —
decidedly
de una vez por todas You must quit smoking once
and for al l.
on credit — not pay cash
right away
a crédito He bought a car on credit.
on edge — nervous,
irri table
nervioso, irritado He’s been on edge ever
since she left.
on guard — on the alert en guardia, alerta He’s cautious and always
on guard.
on hand — available a la mano Do you have a calculator
on hand?
on one’s own — alone,by oneself
por su cuenta,independientemente
She likes t o live and workon her own.
on one’s t oes — alert,
attentive, prepared for
difficulties
alerta He was on his toes and
produced a very good
impression on them.
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on purpose — intentionally a propósito,
intencionalmente
I didn’t do it on purpose,
it just happened so.
on second thought —
after thinking again
pensándolo bien I’d like to sit on the aisle.
On second thought, I’d likea window seat.
on the a lert — on guard alerta, en guardia He’s cautious and always
on the alert.
on the ca rpet — called
in by the boss for criticism
llamar al despacho del
director, llamar
la atención, criticar
Yesterday the boss c alled
her on the carpet for being
rude to the coworkers.
on the go — busy, on the
move
en marcha, en movimientoHe is al ways on the go.
on the off chance —
unlikely to happen, but still
es poco probable pero On the off c hance that you
don’t nd him at work,
here’s his ho me a ddress.
on the o ther hand —
considering the other side
of the question
por otro lado I’d like to have a dog.
On the other hand, my wife
likes cats better.
on the sp ot — right there en el mismo sitio I decided to do it on thespot.
on the s pur of the
moment — without
previous t hought / plan
en la e uforia d el momentoHe bought this car on the
spur of the moment, now
he regrets it.
on time — punctual a tiempo Jim is always on time.
out of one’s m ind — crazy loco, fuera de s í If you think so, you’re out
of your mind.
out of one’s w ay — away
from someone’s u sual route
desviado del camino,
fuera del camino
I can’t give you a lift to the
bank, it’s o ut of my way
today.
out of the question —
impossible
fuera de l a cuestión Paying him is out of the
question!
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pack rat — a person who
saves lots o f unnecessary
things
acumulador obsesivo Why does she keep all
those things sh e never
uses? — She is a pack r at.
pay attention —be attentive
prestar atención Pay attention to his words.
pick a ght — start
a q uarrel
empezar una
pelea/discusión
He often tries t o pick a ght
with me.
pick up — take, get elegir, recoger I’ll pick you up at 7.
play one’s cards right —
choose the right steps
in doing something
jugar bien sus cartas If you play your cards right,
he’ll agree to your plan.
potluck s upper —
a surprise meal, where
nobody knows what dishes
other guests w ill bring
una cena en grupo donde
cada quien trae lo que
quiere
You know what happened
at our last potluck supper?
Everybody brought
macaroni and cheese,
apples, and beer!
pull oneself together —
brace oneself, summon
your strength
sobreponerse Stop crying and
complaining! You have
to pull yourself togethernow.
pull the w ool over
someone’s eyes —
deceive, mislead so meone
engañar Are you trying to pull the
wool over my e yes? It won’t
do you any good.
put a damper on —
discourage
poner un freno a She always puts a damper
on my plans.
put in a w ord for
someone — say p ositive
things abo ut someone
defender a a lguien co n
palabras, decir algo bueno
acerca de alguien
I’d be very grateful if you
could put in a word for
me when you s peak to him.
put off — postpone posponer Don’t put it off till tomorrow.
put one’s foot down —
object strongly
oponerse fuertemente Her father put his foot down
when she sai d she w anted
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to marry Alan.
put one’s foot in it —
do the wrong thing, make
a fool of oneself
meter la pata; decir /hacer
algo estúpido
He put his f oot in it when
he told the boss h is
daughter wasn’t pretty.put up with — accept,
tolerate
aguantar, tolerar I can’t put up with your bad
work!
quite a bit of — much,
a lot of
mucho I had quite a bit of trouble
with that car.
quite a few — many, a lot
of
muchos He wrote quite a few good
stories.
rack o ne’s b rain — try
hard to think
esforzar el cerebro He racked his brain to solve
the puzzle.
read between the l ines —
nd or understand the
implied meaning
leer entre líneas His books are not easy
to understand; you have
to read between the lines.
remember me to — say
hello to
enviar saludos Please remember
me to your family.
right away — immediately de inmediato It’ very important
to do it right away.
ring a bell — remind
someone of something
familiar /half-forgotten
se parece a algo, luce
familiar
Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings
a bell, but I can’t place
it right now.
rock the b oat — make the
situation unstable
causar problemas,
desestabilizar una
situación
Peter always rocks the boat
when we discuss company’s
spending policy.
rub shoulders w ith —meet with
codearse He doesn’t rub shoulderswith the rich.
rub someone the wrong
way — irritate, annoy, make
angry
irritar, molestar a alguien His r emarks r ub many
coworkers the wrong way.
run into — meet by chance encontrarse a alguien p or I ran into an old friend
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casualidad yesterday.
save face — try to change
the negative impression
produced
rescatar la reputación He sai d a stupid thing and
tried to save face by s aying
he misunderstood me.save one’s breath — stop
useless t alk
ahorrarse l as p alabras There’s no use talking
to him about his sp ending
habits, so save your breath.
scratch the surface —
study som ething
supercially
no profundizar en el tema,
estudiar de manera
supercial
He examines a ll the facts
closely, he doesn’t just
scratch the surface.
see about — make
arrangements for
ocuparse de I have to see about our
plane tickets.
see eye t o eye — agree compartir un mismo punto
de vista con alguien
We don’t see eye to eye an y
longer.
serve som eone right —
get what someone
deserves
recibir lo que uno
se merece
It serves him right that
he didn’t get this job,
he despised all other
candidates.
serve one’s p urpose —be useful to someone for
his p urpose
servir al propósitode alguien, ser útil para
el propósito de alguien
I doubt that hiring this m anwill serve your purpose.
show promise —
be p romising
mostrar esperanza This young actor shows
promise.
show up — appear aparecer I waited for hours but
he didn’t show up.
size u p — evaluate
someone
evaluar It took me 5 minutes to size
up that man.
sleep on it — postpone
a decision till next morning
posponer algo hasta
la m añana s iguiente
Don’t decide now, sleep
on it.
a s lip of the t ongue —
a mistake
error, equivocación,
lapsus
It was just a slip of the
tongue!
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slip (from) one’s mind —
forget
olvidar It slipped my mind what she
asked me.
smell a rat — suspect
something
sospechar algo I’m not sure what it is, but I
smell a rat.so far — up to now hasta ahora So far, I have read 3 books
by King.
so much the better — it’s
even better
aún mejor If he can pay cash, so much
the better.
spill the beans — tell
a secret
soltar la sopa, decir
un secreto
Who spilled the beans ab out
our plan?
stand a chan ce — have
a chance
tener una oportunidad He doesn’t stand a chance
of getting it.
stand out — be noticeable destacarse He stands out in any group
of people.
stand to reason —
be logical
ser lógico It stands to reason that
he apologized.
straight from the
shoulder — speak franklysin rodeos, abiertamente Don’t try to spare
my feelings, give
it to me straight from theshoulder.
take a dim view
of something —
disapprove of something
tener una opinión negativa
acerca de algo
My si ster takes a dim view
of the way I raise
my ch ildren.
take a b reak — stop for
rest
tomar una pausa Let’s take a break, I’m tired.
take a dvantage o f — usefor one’s o wn benet,
to prot from
aprovecharse de We took advantage of thelow prices and bought
a co mputer and a monitor.
take after — be like one
of the parents
parecerse a l os pa dres Tom takes after his father
in character, and after his
mother in appearance.
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take a s tand
on something — make
a rm opinion/decision
on smth.
tomar una posición rme
respecto a algo
People n eed to take a stand
on the issue of nuclear
weapons.
take care o f — look a fter,
protect, see that smth.
is d one properly
cuidar de Can you take care
of my dog while I’m away?
Tom takes g ood ca re o f his
car.
take hold of something —
take, hold
tomar, sujetar Take hold of this rope and
pull.
take into account —
consider smth.
tomar en cuenta You must take into account
her old age.
take it easy — relax,
be calm
no te preocupes Take it easy, everything will
be OK.
take (it) for g ranted —
accept as g iven
dar por sentado Mother’s love is always
taken for granted
by c hildren.
take one’s b reath away dejarlo a uno sin aliento That great view took
my breath away.take o ne’s time —
do slowly
tomarte tu tiempo, hacer
algo despacio, sin prisa
Don’t hurry. Take your time.
take one’s word for it —
believe
creer en la palabra
de alguien, creerle
a alguien
Take my word for it, he won’t
go there.
take pains — try hard
to do it well
esmerarse He took pains to make his
report perfect.
take part
in sm th. — participate intomar parte, participar Mary is g oing to take part
in the show.
take p lace — happen tomar lugar, suceder The accident took place
on Oak S treet.
take someone’s mind off distraer a a lguien de su s Go to a co ncert or a movie
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things — distract from
xed ideas/thoughts
pensamientos to take your mind off things.
take steps — take
action /measures
tomar medidas, actuar We need t o take steps
against it.take t he w ords r ight out
of one’s m outh — say the
same before somebody
else says it
quitar las palabras
de la boca (decir algo que
quería decir otra persona)
I was a bout to say the
same! You took the words
right out of my mouth.
take t ime — take a l ong
time
tomar tiempo It takes time to get used
to a new place.
take time o ff — be absent
from work
tomar un día libre He took time off to attend
the wedding.
take turns — alternate
doing something one after
another
cambiar turnos, hacer
algo por turnos
We went to Minsk by car.
We didn’t get tired because
we took turns d riving
talk back — answer rudely replicar, responder
insolentemente
Don’t talk b ack to the
teacher!
talk it over — discuss discutir I’ll talk it over with my family.
tell apart — see thedifference
distinguir Can you tell the twins apart?
That’s just the
point. — That’s i t.Este es el punto. That’s just the point! I hate
this j ob!
the writing on the wall —
a sign of future events
(usually, trouble)
premonición (de algo
malo)
The plane cr ashed. Tim said
he saw the writing on the
wall about this ight.
not think much of — thinklow
tener un concepto bajode alguien
I don’t think m uch of hercooking.
think o ver — consider
carefully
pensar en detalle,
considerar
Think over your answer.
Think it over carefully.
till one is blue in the
face — try hard
esforzarse demasiado I repeated it till I was blue
in the face!
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to make a long story
short — in shorten pocas palabras To make a long story short,
we won.
to say the least — to make
the minimum commentabout smth.
para no decir más The lm was boring and
long, to say the least.
try on — put on new
clothes to test them for size
or look
probarse ( la ropa) Try on this leather coat, it’s
very g ood. She tried it on,
but it didn’t t her a t all.
try one’s h and
at something — tryprobar algo, probar suerte
con algo
I want to try my hand
at painting.
turn on / off — switch on /
off
encender/apagar Turn on the radio. Turn off
the water.
turn out to be — result/end
this w ay
resultar He turned out to be a very
good actor.
turn over a n ew leaf —
make a fresh start in life,
work, etc.
empezar de nuevo, hacer
borrón y cue nta nueva
He promises to turn over
a new leaf and quit alcohol
for good.
turn the tide — reverse t he
course of events
cambiar el curso de los
eventos
The new evidence turned
the tide, and the defendantwas a cquitted of charges.
twist one’s arm — make
to agree
retorcer brazos, obligar
a alguien a hacer algo
en c ontra de su voluntad
They t wisted his a rm to sell
the house.
under the weather — feel
ill
resfriado I’m a little under the weather
today.
up-and-coming —
showing promise of future
success
prometedor He is an up-and-coming
young lawyer who might
help yo u with your case.
up in arms — hostile to,
in strong protest against
something
protestar, estar en contra The employees a re
up in arms abo ut the new
retirement rules.
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up in the a ir — undecided colgado en el aire,
indenido
My vacation plans are still
up in the air.
up to par — equal
in standard
adecuado y normal His behavior isn’t up to par.
used to — did often in the
past, but not now
solía (hacer algo) I used to play the piano
when I was in school (but I
don’t play i t now).
walk o n air — be very
happy
estar en las n ubes, estar
muy feliz
He g ot the job and
is w alking on air now.
waste o ne’s b reath —
speak uselessly,
to no purpose
esforzarse en vano Don’t waste your breath
trying to make him do it,
he won’t change his m ind.
watch one’s st ep —
be careful
tener cuidado, ser
cauteloso
Watch your step!
watch out — look ou t,
be careful
tener cuidado Watch out for that car!
Watch out!
wet blanket — a kill-joy,
who s poils e verybody’s fun
aguaestas Remember what a wet
blanket he was last time?
Please don’t invite himagain.
What’s t he
matter? — What is it?¿Qué pasa? What’s the matter? What
happened?
which way the wind
blows — what the real
situation is
cuál es la situación real
(en qué dirección sopla
el viento)
He knows which way the
wind blows a nd always a cts
accordingly.
white lie — unimportant lie mentira piadosa A white lie is told to spare
your feelings.
word for word — in the
same words
literalmente Tell me word for word what
he sa id.
would rather — prefer preferir I’d rather stay at home
today.
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