Hello,
I'm from the United States and we have some phrases (idioms) that might sound strange to a non native speaker. For example,
(like the) back of one's hand
If you know something like the back of your hand, you are very familiar with it and know it in detail.
"Of course I won't get lost. I know London like the back of my hand!"
back into shape
To get yourself back into shape, you need to take some exercise in order to become fit and healthy again.
"Eva decided she'd have to get back into shape before looking for a job."
get on one's nerves
If you get on someone's nerves, you annoy or irritate them a great deal.
"The children next door are so noisy they're getting on my nerves."
Can you tell me some idioms from where you live?
Hi, Eleanora!
There's an expression in my country whose translation is "the cat has climbed to the roof". We use it when we feel that someone is trying to tell us bad news, but they are afraid of saying it directly. The origin of the expression is a joke about two portuguese friends, one of them moved to Brazil. He received a letter from his friend back in Portugal saying that his cat had died. He answered the letter telling his friend that he shouldn't have been so direct, because he is too sentimental. Instead, he should have told him first "your cat has climbed to the roof", then "your cat has fallen from the roof" and finally "your cat has died". Months later, another letter arrived to the guy who moved to Brazil saying that his mother "had climbed to the roof"... The joke became so popular that gave birth to an idiom!
In spanish we say " Lo conozco como la palma de mi mano" and I think it´s almost the same thing as "back of one´s hand" thing. For example: ¿Estás seguro de que quieres visitar mi ciudad?.- ¡Claro! La conozco como la palma de mi mano.
Back into shape. Well we also have a similar expression wich is "ponerse en forma". Necesito ponerme en forma antes de volver a ver a mi ex-novia :D
I was talking with a friend about mexican slang. And here´s this expression I really love: ¡Pásale a lo barrido! This is a colloquial way to say "Come inside" -lo barrido is like the swept part. :)
¡Qué curioso! Para decir que se conoce muy bien a alguien, en español se suele decir "le conozco como la palma de la mano".
Cuando tenemos un vecino que no para de llorar, decimos que ese niño nos saca de nuestras casillas.
Cuando nos enfadamos con alguien y queremos que nos deje en paz, solemos mandarlo a freír espárragos.
What an interesting topic!
Unfortunaly, Carlos S. stole me the answer :) Solo bromeo. Saludos Carlos. Genial respuesta. También existe "ponerse los nervios de punta" o menos común "me está dando justo en el/los nervio/s".
It's very common, in Mexico, to add "le" at the end of impertative ones. It's a kind of idiom.
In my country, we have a lot of them, like:
"Pedir la cola"
This one could sound "bad" in Mexico, but in my country it's just "give somebody a ride".
¿Puedes darme la cola hasta mi casa?
"Echar los perros"
It literally means to flirt.
Voy a echarle los perros a esa chica.
Saludos.
