TODAY'S IDIOM: ITCHY FEET

"ITCHY FEET"

If you have itchy feet, you feel the need to go somewhere different or do something different.

Example: I know she's got itchy feet because she's been looking at travel websites.

Ganas de viajar.

Example sentences:

• It's no wonder Ken's got itchy feet. He's been doing the same job, in the same office, for nearly twenty years / No es de extrañar que Ken tenga ganas de viajar. Ha estado haciendo el mismo trabajo, en la misma oficina, durante casi veinte años.

• Thanks to low-cost airlines, people with itchy feet who couldn't afford air fares in the past can now travel / Gracias a las líneas aéreas de bajo costo, las personas que tienen ganas de viajar que antes no podían pagar las tarifas aéreas ahora lo pueden hacer.

Additional examples:

• Hearing the train whistle at night gives me itchy feet.

• Why've you got all these travel brochures? Do you have itchy feet?

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TODAY'S IDIOM: TAKE CENTER STAGE

"TAKE CENTER STAGE" 

 

To be the center of interest.

Example: Collecting food and clothes for disaster victims has taken center stage in our town.

Ser el centro de atención.

Example sentences:

• Mobile technology is taking center stage in today's world / La tecnología móvil está siendo el centro de atención en el mundo de hoy.

• You've taken center stage in each meeting of the company / Has sido el centro de atención en cada reunión de la compañía.

Additional examples:

• This model ensures that those most at risk take center stage.

• Each child was eager to take center stage, sharing their vocal skills and talents for all to hear.

 

 

NO CONFUNDIR CON:

"Center stage" El cual literalmente significa: Centro de un escenario.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: NO SWEAT

"NO SWEAT"

You can say "No sweat!" if someone asks you if you can do something, and you're sure you can do it.

Example: Andy: "Are you sure you can carry that box?" Barry: "No sweat!"

Sin duda / Sin problema

Example sentences:

• I asked Jeff if he could handle things in the office while I was away and he laughed and said, "No sweat! Of course I can." / Le pregunté a Jeff si el podría manejar las cosas en la oficina mientras yo no estaba y el se rió y dijo, "¡Sin duda!" Claro que puedo.

• Ollie said, "No sweat!" after I'd asked him if he could help me out / Ollie dijo, "Sin problema" después de que le preguntara si podía echarme la mano.

Additional examples:

• Of course I can have your car repaired by noon. No sweat. You'd like a red one? No problem.

• Will you be able to fix the light?" "Yeah, no sweat."

 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: BEAT THE RAP

"BEAT THE RAP"

 

If someone beats the rap, they avoid being found guilty of a crime.

Example: Everyone knows that Jimmy the Snitch did the robbery in Green St., but he beat the rap because he's in with the cops.

Salir impune.

Example sentences:

• Henry was charged with drunk driving, but his lawyer helped him beat the rap on some technical detail / Henry fue acusado de conducir ebrio, pero su abogado lo ayudó a salir impune en algunos detalles técnicos.

• Sonny was arrested for robbery, but he beat the rap so now he's back home / Sonny fue arrestado por robo, pero logró salir impune así que ahora está de vuelta a casa.

Addittional examples:

• He was charged with drunk driving, but he beat the rap.

• The police hauled Tom in and charged him with a crime. His lawyer helped him beat the rap.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: FAINTEST IDEA

"FAINTEST IDEA"

If you don`t have the faintest idea, about something you don`t know anything at all about it.

Example: Nobody has the faintest idea of how it might actually work.

La mínima / remota idea. 

Example sentences:

• I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about / No tengo la mas mínima idea de lo que estas hablando.

• I didn't have the faintest idea where I was or which way I was going / No tenía la más remota idea de en dónde estaba o a dónde iba.

Additional examples:

• Back then, drivers did not have the faintest idea how to fit or replace the parts in their cars.

• In all honesty, I hadn't the faintest idea what was happening.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: UNDER LOCK AND KEY

"UNDER LOCK AND KEY"

If something is under lock and key, it is kept in a very secure place.

Example: Make sure these documents are under lock and key until we need them. 

Bajo llave / Encerrado (a)
 
Example sentences:

• Poor Josie. Her parents were very strict and they kept her under lock and key throughout her childhood, so she never learned about life's dangers / Pobre Josie. Sus papás fueron muy estrictos y la tuvieron encerrada durante su infancia, así que ella nunca aprendió acerca de los peligros de la vida. 

• The medicines are kept under lock and key so that the children can't get them / Las medicinas se mantienen bajo llave para que los niños no puedan tomarlas.

Additional examples:

• This type of deviant behaviour will get you put under lock and key.

• He's under lock and key after he committed that robbery last year.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN

"KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN"

 

If you keep your nose clean, you stay out of trouble by making sure you don't do anything wrong.

Example: It's important for sport's stars to keep their noses clean because they make a lot of money for endorsing products, and they could lose this income if they got into trouble with the law.

No metas las narices.

Example sentences:

• Our son Michael is in trouble with the police again. I really wish he'd learn to keep his nose clean / Nuestro hijo Michael está en problemas con la policía de nuevo. Realmente me gustaría que aprendiera a no meter sus narices.

• If George doesn't keep his nose clean he'll go to jail / Si George no deja de meter sus narices, irá a la cárcel.

Additional examples:

•  I'm trying to keep my nose clean by staying away from those rough guys.

• John, if you don't learn how to keep your nose clean, you're going to end up in jail.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH / HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH

"HOLD YOUR HEAD HIGH / HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH"

You can hold your head high, or hold your head up high, if you feel proud of something.

Example: Al said, "Will our generation be able to hold our heads high if we've created serious environmental problems for our grandchildren to deal with? I don't think so!"

Con la cabeza en alto.

Example sentences:

• The team didn't win, but they can hold their heads up high because they put up a great fight / El equipo no ganó, pero se van con la cabeza en alto porque dieron todo en la pelea.

• After failing his driving test three times, Shane can hold his head up high now because he has passed it / Después de haber fallado el examen de manejo tres veces, Shane puede irse con la cabeza en alto ahora porque lo ha pasado.

Additional examples:

• As long you play the best tennis you're capable of, you can hold your head high.

• When this country has full employment and an education system for all, then we can hold our head up high.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: A QUICK STUDY

"A QUICK STUDY"

If you're a quick study, you can learn new things quickly.

Example: Albert was always a quick study, except when it came to learning languages.

Aprende rápido.

Example sentences:

• I only need to show Sue how to do something once, and she gets it. She's a quick study, that girl / Solo necesito mostrarle a Sue una vez cómo se hace y ella lo entenderá. Ella aprende rápido, esa chica.

• My teachers thought I would be a quick study like my brother and understand things quickly / Mis maestros piensan que aprenderé rápido como mi hermano y entenderé rápido las cosas.

Additional examples:

• He's a quick study and easily grasps all the details of a discussion.

• Jane, who is a quick study, caught the joke immediately and laughed before everyone else.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: MAKE A KILLING

"MAKE A KILLING"

If you make a killing, you make a lot of money from a sale or a deal of some sort. 

Example: Bill made a killing at the racetrack yesterday.

Hacer una fortuna.

Example sentences:

• My aunt made a killing when she bought some shares in a company as soon as they were issued, and sold them a few weeks later for three times what she paid / Mi tía hizo una fortuna a cuando compró algunas acciones en una empresa tan pronto como fueron publicadas y las vendió unas semanas después a tres veces de lo que pagó. 

• After Julie made a killing on the stock exchange, she celebrated in a nightclub / Después de que Julie hizo una fortuna en la bolsa de valores, celebró en un centro nocturno.

Additional examples:

• Lots of people made a killing when property values went so high back in the nineties. 

• They made a killing last year buying up apartment buildings.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: THE LION'S SHARE

"THE LION'S SHARE"

You can say something is the lion's share if it's the biggest share or portion of something.

Example: The company executives decided to give the lion's share of the company's profits to themselves, in the form of very high salaries, huge bonuses and very generous expense accounts. Not much was left over for staff wages and the shareholders.

La mayor parte.

Example sentences:

• The lion's share of the government's budget goes to the military, when it could be spent on useful things like education, health care and looking after the environment / La mayor parte del presupuesto del gobierno va a los militares, cuando podría ser gastado en cosas útiles como la educación, la salud y el cuidado del medio ambiente.

• The lion's share of the zoo's budget was spent on the salaries / La mayor parte del presupuesto del zoológico se gastó en los sueldos.

Additional examples:

• The lion's share of the museum's budget goes on special exhibitions.

• Reputable charities spend the lion's share of donations on aid and a tiny fraction on administration.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: The Real McCoy

"The Real McCoy" 

 

You can say something is the real McCoy if it's genuine, and not a fake or a copy.

Example: The duck liver pate was the real McCoy. It tasted so much better than the stuff in tins they call duck liver pate back home.

Original / Verdadero.

Example sentences:

• You only paid $50 for a Gucci handbag? Well it's obviously not the real McCoy then, is it / ¿Solo pagaste $50 por una bolsa Gucci? Bueno, obviamente no es verdadera, es eso.

• I know my new Rolex is the real McCoy because I bought it from the Rolex store in Paris / Sé que mi nuevo Rolex es original porque lo compré en la tienda Rolex en Paris.

Additional examples:

• Of course it's authentic. It's the real McCoy.

• Cheap sparkling wines cannot be labelled 'champagne'. It has to be the real McCoy.

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