Burn the candle at both

ends
El que mucho
abarca, poco
aprieta (en el
sentido que te
desgastas al hacer
tantas cosas)

I want to learn
English, Spanish,
Italian . I turn in so
late and I go to
work early
morning.
You burn the
candle at both
ends

Put the cart before the

horse
Poner el carro
antes que los
bueyes

Oh think that
Lorena always
wants to do the
second step.
That tight, she
always puts the
cart before the
horse.

Put the foot in the mouth

Meter la pata
I think that I
offended Marelin
You always put
your foot in your
mouth

Beat around the bush

Andarse con
rodeos
He was being so
bombastic and he
didnt say anything
Ash! He always
beats around the
bush

Look for a needle in a

haystack
Buscar una aguja
en un pajar

I was searching a
specific information
about the spread of
AIDS.
Are you crazy? Its
like to look for a
needle in a
haystack

Play with fire

Jugar con fuego

The boss laid off

his workers
I think that he is
playing with fire

Bark up the wrong tree

Apostarle al caballo
equivocado
Do you think that
shes your real love
Well, Im sure
You are barking up
the wrong tree

Look out for number one

Cuidarse por si
mismo (en el
sentido que slo se
piensa en si mismo
y en nadie ms)

I just want to pass

the TOEFL and I
dont care the
others.
Youre so selfish
and you look out
for number one.

Take forever and a day

Tomar una
eternidad
He is so slow when
he walks
Apparently, he
takes forever and a
day in order to go
home

Kill two birds with one stone

Matar dos pajaros
de un slo tiro
I will do TOEFL
exam in order to
pass the subject
and to graduate
You will kill two
birds with a stone

Miss the boat

Irse el avin
Pay attention, John,
or you'll miss the
boat and not learn
algebra.
Tom really missed
the boat when it
came to making
friends.

Jump out of the frying pan and into

the fire
Salir de guatemala
para meterse a
guatepeor

Her parents always

mistreat her and
shell get married
with a bad man
She jumped out of
the frying pan and
into the fire

Between a rock and a hard

place
Entre la espada y
la pared

The child has to

decide with whom
he is going to live
among his parents
Oh no!, he is
between a rock
and a hard place

Head and shoulders above

the rest
Ser
cabecita/cerebrito
My classmate
always passes all
the subjects
He is head and
shoulders above
the rest

All in a days work

Es parte del trabajo

Idon'tparticularly
like
tocook,butit'salli
na days
work.Cleaning up
afterotherpeoplei
s all
inaday'sworkfor
a busboy.

Jack-of-all-trades
Estuche de
monera
Wow! Hes a jack of
all trades, because
he can do
plumbing,
carpentry, and
roofing.

Like trying to swim

upstream
Ir contra la
corriente
Getting my mom to
let me stay out late
is like trying to
swim upstream.

One in a million
En un milln
She'sthesweetest
, most
generousperson I
knowshe'soneina
million.

Off the hook

Libre de culpa
Thanksforgetting
me off
thehook.Ididn't
want toattendthat
meeting.Icouldn't
getmyselfofftheh
ooknomatterwhat
Itried.

All in the same boat

En el mismo barco
We can pass the
subject and we can
return the
semester
We are all in the
same boat

Like two peas in a pod

Como dos gotas de
agua
He is so arrogant
and he takes after
his father
Oh yeah! Like two
peas in a pod

Knock somebody down with the

feather
Caer de sorpresa
I was with my
girlfriend, when
suddenly my
cousin knocked me
down with the
feather.

A chip off the old block

De tal palos tal la
astilla
Salinas de Gortari
and Pea Nieto are
a chip off the old
block.

On her last legs

A bordo de la
muerte
We are in hospital
2 days and my
uncle is on his last
legs.

On the tip of my tongue

En la punta de la
lengua
I dont remember
his name but i
have it on the tip of
my tongue.

Two heads are better than

one
Dos cabezas
piensan mejor que
uno

Teacher, why do I
have to work in
team with them?
Because two heads
are better than one

You could have heard a pin

drop
Poderse or un
alfiler

When the sponsor

was talking in the
ceremony.
Everybody was
quiet and you
could have heard a
pin drop

Six of one, half dozen of the

other
Da lo mismo
I also compared
the two stereos,
and in most
respects it's six of
one, half a dozen
of the other.

To each his own

Cada oveja con su
pareja
A:Boblikeschopp
ed
prunesonicecrea
m!
B:Toeachhisown.

Rain cats and dogs

Llover a cantaro

The sky is so
cloudy
Maybe today will
rain cats and dogs

Just my luck
Vaya suerte la ma
Oh no, America
football team lost,
therefore you lost
the bet.
Oh, just my luck.

No sooner said than done

Dicho y hecho

Jill:CanIhelpyouout
?
Jane:Yes!Putthese
filesin alphabetical
order.
Jill:Nosoonersaidtha
ndone.Theserviceatt
hehotelwasreallyrem
arkable.Everythingwe
askedforwasno
sooner said thandone.

His bark is worse than his

bite
Perro que ladra no
muerde
I wouldnt be
scared o f her If I
were you. Her
barks a lot worse
than herbite.

Where theres a will, theres

a way!
Querer es poder
A: you need to
change
B: I cant, its
impossible
A: Where theres a
will, theres a way

So far, so good!
How do I like
Bien hasta ahora
retirement? So far
Por ahora todo bien
so good. But ask
me again in six
months.

Every cloud has a silver

lining!
No ha mal que por
bien no venga.

A: I couldnt get
the job.
B: Dont worry
maybe you have a
better one.
Four days later
A: Im happy, I got
a good job. Ill earn
more money
B: Every cloud has
a silver lining!

Rome wasnt built in a day

Roma no se
construy en un
da

I wanna earn
money in this
enterprise quickly
Wait! Rome wasnt
built in a day

The grass is always greener on the

other side of the fence
Las manzanas
siempre parecen
mejores en el
huerto del vecino

I
sometimesthinkI'd
behappierteachin
gin Spain. Oh well,
the grass is always
greener on the
otherside!

Turn over a new leaf

No hay vuelta de
hoja / atrs / No
hay marcha atrs
Empezar de cero

A: wait! our friends

are trapped by the
police
B: Lets go, we
cant wait. Turn
over a new leaf.

Dont count your chickens before

theyre hatched
No vendas la piel
del oso antes de
matarlo/cazarlo

A: Now, we have
the diploma
B: Yes , but dont
count your
chickens before
theyre hatched.
You know that
weve not finished
the career

Stand on my own two feet

Sostenerse
She'll have to get a
joband
learntostand on
her own two feet
sooner or later.

Strike while the iron is hot

Atscate ahora que
hay lodo.

Thisisthebesttim
ein
thelasttenyearst
o buy a house.
Strike while the
iron is hot. A s k
Lisa for a favor
now, while shes in
a good mood.
Strike
whiletheironisho
t.

Hit the nail right on the

head
Darle el blanco

You'vespottedthe
flaw,Sally.Youhitt
he nailon
thehead.Bobdoes
n't
saymuch,butever
y no
wandthenhehitst
he nail
rightonthehead.

Look before you leap

Ser precavido
Mirar antes de
cruzar

Thinking of
investing in a new
business? Look
before you leap!

 She'donlyhadsma
Sink teeth
into
Empezar con todas
las ganas del
mundo

ll
partsinfilmsandw
as
hopingforabigger
, more
interestingpart,
somethingshecoul
d
sinkherteethinto.
It'sa
reallyexcitingproje
ct
Ican'twaittosink

Dot all the is and cross all

the ts
Poner los puntos
sobre las ies
Shewriteshighlya
ccuratereportsshe always dot she
her is and
crosseshert's.

Run around like a chicken with its

head cut
off
I'vegotsomuchw
Andar como pollo
degollado

ork todo-I'vebeen
running
aroundlikeaheadl
ess
chickenallweek.H
e
wasracingaround
likeachickenwithi
ts
headcutofftrying
todotheworkoftw
opeople.

A piece of cake
Pan comido

I can speak
Spanish, its a
piece of cake

Have been born with a silver spoon

in his mouth
Nacer en cuna de
oro, en paales de
seda.

Cuautemoc
Crdenas does not
know anything
about poverty
because he has
been born with a
silver spoon in his
mouth.

Cloud nine
La novena nuve

Im fall in love with

her
You are on cloud
nine

Break a leg
Buena suerte

Today is my TOEFL
exam, I hope to
pass it.
Break a leg.

Its up to you
Darle la gana
A: do you want me
to play
videogames?
Its up to you, I
dont care

Make ends meet

Para llegar a fin de
mes
I have two jobs in
ordertomake ends
meet.

Cook the book

Maquillar las cifras

PRI and PAN are

good for cooking
the book

kickback
Mordida

The contract to
supply Tornado jets
went to Smith Inc
because they
offered a kickback
to the Defence
Procurement
Minister.

payoff
Dar una mordida
They paid the
inspector off so
that they turn a
blind eye to the
trafficking of
reptiles

Itchy palm
Dar comezn
Ponerse guapo

Well I feel an itchy

palm. I think Ill
receive money.
If you dont have
problem with your
files, itchy palm

Hush money
Silenciar
Salinas de Gortari
hushed money
Cuautemoc
Cardenas in the
moment to win the
Jefe de Gobierno.

Cover up
Encubrir
Tapar
The candidate tried
to cover up his
affair with a
woman.

Line ones own pockets

Llenarse los
bolsillos
Salinas de Gortari
sold the mexican
enterprises and he
lined his own
pockets

Ride the gravy train

Embolsarse el
dinero
Mexican politicians
always ride the
gravy train.

Got one head over heel

Tener de cabeza

You really love her

Thats right, she
got me head over
heel

There's more than one way to skin a

cat
Hay varios camino
que conducen a
Roma

A: This is not the

only way to answer
the TOEFL.
B: Theres more
than one way to
skin a cat