Green dogs and trapped cats: Ten animal idioms to help you sound more Spanish

'To be like a goat'

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'To be like a goat' is used to describe somebody who's nuts.

Example: ¡Está como una cabra! - He's bonkers.

 

'To lift the hare'

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'To lift the hare' is like letting the cat out of the bag.

Example: No se quien levantó la liebre pero ahora todo el mundo sabe que suspendí el examen. - I don't know who let the cat out of the bag but everybody knows I failed my exam.

 

'To kill the worm'

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'To kill the worm' is to take the edge off your hunger.

Example: A ver si con esta tapa matas el gusanillo. - Let's see if you take the edge off your hunger with this tapa.

 

'To be a rat'

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'To be a rat' is to be tight-fisted.

Example: No seas rata, déjame €5. - Don't be so tight-fisted, lend me €5.

 

'To pay the duck'

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'To pay the duck' is to carry the can for something.

Example: Ahora me toca pagar el pato por lo que he hecho. - Now I have to take responsibility for what I've done.

 

'To cut the cod'

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'To cut the cod' is to call the shots.

Example: Desde que se fue mi padre, yo soy el que corta el bacalao en esta casa. - Since my father left, I'm the one who calls the shots in this house.

 

'There's a trapped cat here'

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'There's a trapped cat here' means there's something fishy going on.

Example: Aquí hay gato encerrado. No me estás contando lo que realmente pasó. - There's something fishy going on. You're not telling me what really happened. 

 

'The dogs aren't tied up with sausages'

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In English you say the streets aren't paved with gold, but in Spain you say 'the dogs aren't tied up with sausages'.

Example: No te vayas a Alemania, ahí los perros no están atados con longanizas. - Don't go to Germany, the streets aren't paved with gold over there.

 

'Sweating like a chicken'

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When the Spanish get a sweat up, they do it chicken-style.

Example: ¡Que calor! Estoy sudando como un pollo! - It's so hot! I'm sweating bucketloads.

 

'Stranger than a green dog'

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In Spanish, if you say someone is 'weirder than a green dog' it means they are very odd.

Example: Es más raro que un perro verde, se pone la ropa de su abuela. - He's so weird, he wears his grandma's clothes.