[...]... term in the expression, the full expression usually appears in parentheses with the key word represented by a tilde ~ The English expression is followed by one or more equivalent Spanish idiomatic expressions This may serve your immediate requirements, but for a more complete treatment of these Spanish expressions, locate them in the Spanish- English dictionary under their respective headwords The headword... insultos They hurled a string of insults at us 4 English -Spanish Dictionary and Index If you are looking for a Spanish equivalent of an English expression, consult the English -Spanish Dictionary and Index The English expressions are listed alphabetically by key word The words to (as part of the infinitive) and to be (before an adjectival expression) are not alphabetized Wherever the key word is not the first... veras half-joking[ly], halfserious[ly] ᭜ Lo dijeron entre bromas y veras They said it kind of half-jokingly, half-seriously i mezclar bromas con veras (fig.) to apply a carrot-and-stick policy or a policy of the carrot and the stick (fig.) ᭜ El gobierno mezcló bromas con veras para cambiar la opinión del pueblo The government applied a policy of the carrot and the stick in order to change the people’s... Meanings The English meaning of every headword is provided, except where no equivalent exists and the word is only comprehensible within an idiomatic expression Every Spanish idiomatic expression is followed by at least one English equivalent As far as is possible, the English expression has been selected to match the tone or register of the Spanish phrase Note that in many instances the literal meaning of. .. fam.) There isn’t/wasn’t a living soul here/there There isn’t/wasn’t a sod here/there (sl., Br.E.) ᭜ No hay bicho viviente en la calle There isn’t a living soul in/on the street i todo bicho viviente (fig., fam.) everyone, everybody, each and every one of them; every Tom, Dick and Harry (fam.); every man jack [of them] (fam.), every living soul, [all] the world and his wife (fam., Br.E.), every mother’s... in- formation from him is like trying to get blood out of a stone (fig.) i ser agua pasada to be water under the bridge (fam.), to be a thing of the past ᭜ El lío con ella es agua pasada The affair with her is a thing of the past i ha corrido/pasado mucha agua bajo el puente a lot of water has flowed under the bridge ᭜ Ha corrido mucha agua bajo el puente desde entonces A lot of water has flowed under the. .. catch s.o on the hop (fam.), to catch s.o red- handed ᭜ Estaba robando el contenido de la hucha de la bota su hermano cuando la madre entró en el cuarto Lo pilló en bolas He was plundering his brother’s piggy bank when the mother entered the room She caught him red- handed ] bola (no dar pie con ~) la bolichada casting of the net i la bolichada (fig., fam.) stroke of luck, lucky break la bolina lead, bowline... talk/act big (fam.), to puff o.s up (fig.), to act the big shot (fam.) s.th.] (fig., fam.) ᭜ El pacto se firmó a bombo y platillo A great song and dance was made about the signing of the treaty ᭜ Lo anunciaron a bombo y platillo It was announced with great fanfare It was ballyhooed (fam.) el bonete cap, biretta i un gran bonete (fam.) bigwig (fam.), big shot (fam.), big noise (sl.), big cheese (sl.), big wheel... (fig., fam.) (a) to be a member of the other party, to be a competitor (b) to be gay (fam.), to be homosexual ] acero (tener nervios de ~) aclarar to clarify i aclarar las cosas (fig.) to clear the air/atmosphere (fig.) ᭜ Al principio hubo muchas tensiones entre ellos, pero finalmente aclararon las cosas At first there were a lot of ten- sions between them, but finally they cleared the air ] acostarse con las... set-to (fam.), racket (fam.), scrap (sl.) (b) tickingoff/telling-off (fam., Br.E.), scolding ᭜ Anoche se armó una bronca bestial There was an almighty row last night ᭜ buscar bronca to look for trouble, to look for a fight ᭜ echar la gran bronca a alg to give s.o a terrific telling-off/ticking-off or bollocking (sl., Br.E.), to come down on s.o like a ton of bricks (fam.), to really bite s.o.’s head off . alt="" THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH IDIOMS Also available: Gordon & Stillman /The Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs Gordon & Stillman /The Red Pocket Book of Spanish Verbs THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH. permission of the publisher. 0-0 7-1 4426 1-8 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: 0-0 7-1 4330 2-3 . Alltrademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather. Juan Pérez (the man in the street), professors and students, contemporary and classical literature, dictionaries, movies, and newspapers from across the Spanish- speaking world. The Big Red Book of Spanish