TODAY'S IDIOM: GO OVER YOUR HEAD

"GO OVER YOUR HEAD"

If someone goes over your head, they go to someone with more authority than you in order to get something that you would normally grant, possibly because they think you won't give it to them.

Example:

I wouldn't go over her head if I were you. It'll make her angry, and next time you ask her for something she might say no.

Pasar por encima de mi cabeza.

Example sentences:

• If someone decides to go over your head to get something, they could go to your boss / Si alguien decide pasar por encima de tu cabeza para obtener algo, podría ser tu jefe.

• He knew I wouldn't give him time off, so he went over my head and asked my boss / Él sabía que yo no le daría tiempo libre, así que pasó por encima de mi cabeza y le preguntó a mi jefe.

Additional examples:

• I really don't want to go over her head but if she won't listen to me I have no choice.

• I would occasionally go over my manager's head to complain to the top financial officer. 

   

   

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TODAY'S IDIOM: SEE RED

"SEE RED"

If you see red, you become extremely angry.

Example: We were playing baseball when one of the batters saw red after a pitcher threw the ball straight at his head. He ran up to the guy and punched him.

Sacar de quicio / Enfurecerse

Example sentences:

• There's no point getting into a fight, so if you see red just count to ten and wait for the anger to die down / No tiene sentido meterse a una pelea, si te sacas de quicio mejor cuenta hasta diez hasta que el coraje se te baje.

• Their bureaucracy is so complicated, it makes me see red / ¡La burocracia es tan complicada!, me saca de quicio.

Additional examples:

• We were playing a game of cards when Marty suddenly saw red. He said it was because he saw Harry cheating.

• When he made that rude comment to my girlfriend, I saw red.

 

 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: QUICK OFF THE MARK

"QUICK OFF THE MARK"

If you are quick off the mark, you are quick to react to an event or an opportunity.

Example: Steven was quick off the mark when the internet started. He had his first website up and running before most people had even tried email.

Eficiente.

Example sentences: 

• Bobby is always quick off the mark when a girl comes into the bar. He's offering her a drink before most of us have even noticed her / Bobby siempre es muy eficiente cuando una chica entra al bar. Él le ofrece una copa antes de que nosotros nos demos cuenta.

• If someone is quick off the mark, they do something before most other people / Si alguien es eficiente, ellos hacen algo mucho antes que los demás.

Additional examples:

• The police were quick off the mark reaching the scene of the accident.

• There wasn't much time to waste and in order to secure a place, you had to be quick off the mark.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: HEADS OR TAILS?

"HEADS OR TAILS?"

 

 

The face of a coin or the opposite side.

Example: To see who would go first the boy threw a coin in the air and asked, "Heads or Tails?."

¿Cara o cruz?

Example sentences:

• The referee threw the coin to see if it would be heads or tails / El árbitro tiró la moneda al aire para ver si sería cara o cruz.

• We decided who would go first in the game by throwing heads or tails with a coin / Decidimos quien irá primero en el juego lanzando cara o cruz con una moneda.

Additional examples:

• Jim looked at Jane as he flipped the coin into the air. "Heads or tails?" he asked.

• It doesn't matter whether the result of the toss is heads or tails. I won't like the outcome in any case.

 

 

 

 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: UPSET THE APPLECART

"UPSET THE APPLECART"

If you upset the applecart, you do something that causes trouble or upsets someone's plans.

Example: Kelly's sister really upset the applecart when she told Kelly that she'd seen her husband waiting for someone in a hotel lobby when he was supposed to be in New York. 

Echar a perder.

Example sentences:

• We'd planned to have our wedding in the local park, but the head of the council upset the applecart when he refused to give us permission / Habíamos planeado nuestra boda en un parque local pero el jefe del consejo echó todo a perder cuando se negó a darnos el permiso.

• I don't want to upset the applecart now by asking you to change the date for the meeting / No lo quiero echar a perder ahora pidiéndole que cambie la fecha de la reunión.

Additional examples:

• The Stones upset the applecart by pulling out of the music festival. They were going to be the main act.

• He was making a fantastic profit until a competitor upset the applecart by cutting prices.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: DON'T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET

"DON'T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET"

 

 

To make everything dependent on only one thing; to place all one's resources in one place, account, etc.

Example: If you're going to invest the money, my advice would be don't put all your eggs in one basket. 

No te lo juegues todo a una sola carta.

Example sentences:

• He invested all his money in shares in one company and when that company went bankrupt he lost everything. He shouldn't have put all his eggs in one basket / Invirtió todas sus acciones en una empresa y cuando ésta quebró él perdió todo. No debió jugar todo a una sola carta.

• I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, so I played five different lottery games, but lost all of them / No quería jugar todo a una sola carta, así que jugué 5 diferentes juegos de lotería, pero los perdí todos.

Additional examples:

• I advise you to diversify and not to put all your eggs in one basket.

• Balance your investments. Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: VOTE WITH YOUR FEET

"VOTE WITH YOUR FEET"

If you vote with your feet, you show your opinion of something by acting in a certain way, such as by buying something if you like it, or by not buying it if you don't like it.

Example: Opponents of the fur trade are trying to get people to vote with their feet by refusing to buy from shops that sell any clothes that use fur. 

Dar la espalda.

Example sentences:

• When the price of concert tickets nearly doubled, music fans voted with their feetand didn't go to the concerts / Cuando el precio de las entradas para los conciertos casi se duplicó, los aficionados dieron la espalda y no asistieron a los conciertos.

• If people are voting with their feet, they are using their actions to express their preferences / Si la gente está dando la espalda, están utilizando sus acciones para expresar sus preferencias.

Additional examples:

• I think that the play is a total flop. Most of the audience voted with its feet during the second act.

• I am prepared to vote with my feet if the meeting appears to be a waste of time. 

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