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Archive for October, 2008

A otro perro con ese hueso – go tell it to the Marines
A paso de tortuga – to move slowly
Al buey por el cacho, al hombre por la palabra – a man is only as good as his word
Al caballo regalado no se le mire el colmillo – beggars can’t be choosers
A cada chanco gordo le llega su día – everyone’s time will come
Burro/a – a dumb person
Burro que se enreda se ahoga – If you are dumb enough to get mixed up in something, you deserve what you get
Buscar tres pies al gato – to look for trouble
Caballo – a dumb man
Cabeza de pollo – a dumb person
Comer como chancho – to eat like a pig
Como gallina en corral ajeno – to be out of place
Como sapo en pozo ajeno – to feel out of place
Correr como gato por ascuas – to run like bat out of hell
Cuando la rana echa pelo – never
Dar gato por liebre – to cheat
De noche todos los gatos son pardos – when the lights go out all  cats are the same color
Dejar dormir los perros del pasado – let sleeping dogs lie
Echar el caballo – to make a pass at someone. In Costa Rica they also say echar el rucho or echar los perros
El buey lerdo toma el agua sucia – last come last served
El buey solo se relame mejor – it’s better to be alone
Gallina vieja hace buen caldo – an old hen makes a good broth (use your imagination here)
Gato con guantes no caza ratones -  a gloved cat can’t catch mice
Gato escaldado del agua fría huye – once bitten twice shy
Hablar como lora hambrienta – to be a non-stop talker
Hay un gato encerrado – there is more than meets the eye
Hijo de tigre nace rayado – like father like son or chip off the old block
La necesidad tiene cara de perro – beggars can’t be choosers
Lobo vestido en piel de oveja – a wolf in sheep’s clothing
Loro viejo no aprende  a hablar – can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Más agarrado que mono en ventolero – to be cheap or tight-fisted
Más largo que pedo de culebra – to be very long (vulgar)
Más nervioso que un burro en lancha – to be nervous
Más pesado que un elefante – to be heavier than an elephant
Más picado que cerrote de gallina – to be very drunk (vulgar)
Otra cosa mariposa – Forget it!
Otro gallo le cantaría – it would have been different
Ser muy pollito – to be inexperienced
Ser tan ciego como un topo – to be blind as a mole (bat)
Ser tan hambriento como un león – to be as hungry as a lion
Ser tan libre como un pájaro – to be as free as a bird
Te conozco bacalao aunque vengas disfrazado – to know someone well
Tener la memoria de elefante – to have a good memory
Tener la memoria de hormiga – to have a poor memory
Tener más mañas que un perro callejero – to smarter than a street dog
Tener más vidas que un gato – to have more lives than a cat
Vista de águila – to have good eye sight
Yeguita – a dumb woman

Tiquismo:
Buchaca – is like a nest egg of money.

Caersele un tornillo – to be missing a screw
Camisa de fuerza – straight jacket
Casa de locos – nut house or mental institution
*Chiflado – nuts
Corrersele las tejas – to have your roofing tiles slide or to go nuts (Costa Rica)
Cruzarsele los cables – to have your cables cross
Desequilibrado mentalmente – mentally imbalanced
Desquisiado – crazy, unbalanced
Enfermo de la cabeza – to be sick in the head
Enloquecerse – to go crazy
Es de locos – it’s crazy (almost any situation)
Esquizo, esquizofrénico – squizo (frenico) squizofrenic
Estar cucu – to be crazy
Estar loco/a – to be temporarily crazy
Estar loco/a por – to be crazy about someone (love)
Estar mal de la azotea – to be crazy
Estar mal de la cabeza – to be crazy
Faltarle a alguien un tornillo – to be missing a screw
Fundirsele los fusibles – to go crazy
La mente perturbada - disturbed
Locamente enamorado – head over heals in love
Locuras – crazy things a person does
Loqueros – the guys who take you away to the nut house
Estar mal del coco – to be nuts
Manicomio – mental institution
Más loco que una cabra – to be crazy
Mente torcida – a twisted mind
Mongolo – an insulting way to say you are retarded (Costa Rica)
No estar bien de la cabeza – not to be well in the head
No estar en sus cabales – to be crazy
Perder la cabeza – lose one’s head or to go crazy
Perder la cordura – to loose one’s sanity
Psicópata – psychopath
Psicosis - psychosis
Retraso mental – retarded
Sacar de quicio – to drive crazy
Se pone como loco – to go crazy temporarily
Ser cuerdo/a -  to be sane
Ser loco/a – to be permanently crazy
Tener los tornillos flojos – have a loose screw or to be crazy
Tener pájaros en la cabeza -  to have bats in the belfry
Tenerle loco a alguien – to have someone crazy or drive them crazy (temporary)
Tocado/a de la cabeza – to be touched in the head
Volverse loco/a – to go crazy

Tiquismos
Camote – crazy in Costa Rica
Loqueras – crazy things in Costa Rica, but the correct word is locuras

http://www.diarioextra.com/2008/octubre/08/sucesos07.php

Ahogar sus penas – to drown one’s sorrows
Alcoholismo - alcoholism
Amarrarse una juma – to get drunk
Andar hasta la madre – to be drunk
Beber como cosaco – to drink like a Cossack
Beber como esponja – to drink like a sponge
Borracho – drunk (most common way to say it)
Cruda – hangover in Mexico
Darle a vidrio – to hit the bottle
Dormir la juma – sleep off a drunk
Dormir la mona –sleep off a drunk
Emborracharse – to get drunk
Embriagado – to be drunk
Empinarse el codo – to drink a lot
Estar bien pedo – to be drunk in Mexican Spanish (vulgar)
Estar borracho – to be drunk
Estar crudo/a – to have a hangover in Mexico
Estar hasta el copete – to be drunk
Goma – hangover in Costa Rica
Gomón – a big hangover in Costa Rica
Gotera – slang for a hangover in Costa Rica
Juma - drunk
Jumarasca – a drunken spree
Jumas - drunk
Jumarse – to get drunk
Manejar bajo los efectos del alcohol – to drive drunk
Ponerse hasta la madre – to get drunk
Ponerse sobrio – to get sober
Resaca – hangover in some countries
Ser borracho – to be a drunk (permanent condition)
Sobrio - sober
Tomado - drunk


Sayings of the week:

  • Más vale borracho conocido que un alcohólico anónimo – It’s better to be a well-known drunk than an anonymous alcoholic
  • Traté de ahogar mis penas pero aprendieron a nadar –  I tried to drown my sorrows, but they learned how to swim
  • Tener sangre en el alcohol – to have blood in your alcohol or be drunk

Alimentar el ego – feed our ego
Arrogante – arrogant
Comer delante de pobres – to show off in front of lees fortunate people
Creerse el ombligo del mundo – to think one is hot stufff
Creerse la divina garza - think one is hot stuff
Creerse la gran caca – to think one is hot shit (vulgar)
Creerse la gran cosa – think you are hot stuff
Creerse la mamá de Tarzán - think one is hot stuff
Creerse la útima Coca-Cola en el desierto -  think one is hot stuff
Creerse la última chupada de mango – think one is hot stuff
Creerse más – believe you are more than someone
Creerse muy muy – think one is hot stuff
Creerse muy sabroso - think one is hot stuff
Creerse superior – think you are superior
Creído - conceited
Darse lija – to be full of oneself
Darse paquete - to be full of oneself
Darse taco – to be full of oneself, to put on airs
Echarse flores – to praise oneself
Egocéntirco – self-centered
Egoísta – egotist
Hambriento de poder – hungry for power
Lleno de si mismo – full of oneself
Lucir – to show off something
Lucirse – to show off
Mirarle para abajo – to look down on someone
Mirar por encima del hombro – to look down on
Presumir – to brag
Presumido – stuck up
Tener el ego grande -  to have a big ego
Tener humos - think one is hot stuff

Saying of the week:
El que mucho habla de lo que sabe, poco sabe de lo que dice – he who talks about how much he knows really doesn’t know what he is talking about