TODAY'S IDIOM: QUALITY TIME

"QUALITY TIME"

If you spend quality time with someone, you spend time doing things that enrich your lives and improve your relationship.

Example: This book says parents should spend quality time with their kids every day, and not just sit in the same room watching TV with them before sending them to bed.

Tiempo de calidad.

Example sentences:

• Most people work so much these days that they don't have the chance to spend enough quality time with their friends and family / La mayoría de la gente trabaja demasiado estos día que no tienen oportunidad de pasar tiempo de calidad con sus amigos y familia.

• Most people would say that spending quality time with their kids is very important / La mayoría de la gente diría que pasar tiempo de calidad con sus hijos es muy imprtante.

Additional examples:

• He was able to spend a few minutes of quality time with his son, Buxton, at least once every two weeks.

• It had been so long since we went on a vacation but this last month we decided to spend quality time with the family regardless.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

"LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG"

If you let the cat out of the bag, you let someone know a secret.

Example: We'd planned a surprise party for Donna, but some guy she works with let the cat out of the bag, so now she knows.

Revelar el secreto / Revelarlo.

Example sentences:

• Don't forget that this is a secret, so whatever you do, don't let the cat out of the bag / No hay que olvidar que se trata de un secreto, así que cualquier cosa que hagas, no lo reveles.

• After Julie let the cat out of the bag, we all knew / Después de que Julie reveló el secreto, todos sabíamos.

• It's a secret. Try not to let the cat out of the bag / Es un secreto, trata de no revelarlo.

Additional examples:

• When Bill glanced at the door, he let the cat out of the bag. We knew then that he was expecting someone to arrive.

 

• I was trying to keep the party a secret, but Jim went and let the cat out of the bag.

• Amazingly, not one of the people who knew about the surprise let the cat out of the bag.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: (LIKE) WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK

"(LIKE) WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK"

 

You can say an insult or criticism is like water off a duck's back if it doesn't upset you.

Example: I asked Amy if she got upset when journalists wrote negative things about her, and she said she didn't care what they wrote. It was like water off a duck's back.

Se le resbala.

Example sentences:

• Terry said he was too sensitive about criticism and he wanted to be like one of those people for whom it's like water off a duck's back / Terry dijo que era demasiado sensible a las críticas y quería ser como una de esas personas a las que todo se les resbala.

• Many people claim that insults or negative comments are like water off a duck's back, but in reality, many of them are upset by such things / Muchas personas afirman que los insultos o comentarios negativos se les resbalan, pero en realidad, muchos de ellos están molestos por este tipo de cosas.

Additional examples:

• Insults rolled off John like water off a duck's back.

• He's always being told he's lazy and incompetent, but it's just water off a duck's back to him.

 

 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: DAY TO DAY

"DAY TO DAY"

If something happens day to day, it's part of the usual daily routine. 

Example: While you're away you'll have to pay for all your day to day expenses yourself, except for the hotel. 

Día a día.

Example sentences:

• She can deal with the small problems she faces day to day, but if there's a major crisis she usually panics / Ella puede lidiar con pequeños problemas que enfrenta día a día, pero si es un problema mayor, usualmente entra en pánico.

• Most people's day to day exercise includes some housework / El ejercicio del día a día de la mayor parte de las personas incluye tareas domésticas.

Additional examples:

• It's Sheila who's responsible for the day to day running of the school 

• The day to day movements of the stock market. 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: FROM THE OUTSET

"FROM THE OUTSET"

Throughout, from the very beginning.

Example: I felt from the outset that Lisa was the wrong one for the job.

Desde el inicio / comienzo. 

Example sentences:

• From the outset we were told everything we had to do / Desde el inicio, se nos dijo todo lo que teníamos que hacer.

• At the outset the problem seemed simple, but then it became quite complicated / Al inicio el problema parecía simple. Pero después, se volvió bastante complicado.

Additional examples:

• The trial against them was corrupt from the outset.

• We've received quite strong support from the outset from public and private donors.

 

 

 

 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: (SOMETHING) OCCURS TO YOU

"(SOMETHING) OCCURS TO YOU"

If something occurs to you, you think of it.

Example: Has it ever occurred to you that your daughter's happiness is more important than what your friends might think if they know she's gay? 

No me imaginé

Example sentences:

• It had never occurred to Ursula that her husband might run off with a younger woman one day. She was very surprised / Ursula nunca se imaginó que un día, su marido se iría con una mujer más joven. Estaba muy sorprendida. 

• I was surprised when I heard that Anne had quit. It had never occurred to me that she wasn't happy working here / Me sorprendí cuando escuché que Anne había renunciado. Nunca me imaginé que ella no estaba feliz de trabajar aquí.

 
Additional examples:

• It occurred to me that you might be hungry after your long journey.

• Would it ever occur to you that I want to be left alone?

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TODAY'S IDIOM: UNDER WRAPS

"UNDER WRAPS"

If something is under wraps, it's being kept secret.

Example: Our new products are always under wraps until their official launch because we don't want other companies seeing them and copying them.

Secreto.

Example sentences:

• The organisers keep the name of the winner under wraps until it's announced on the show / Los organizadores mantienen el nombre del ganador en secreto hasta que sea anunciado en el show. 

• The best way to keep something under wraps is to let as few people as possible know about it / La mejor manera de mantener algo en secreto es dejar que solo pocas personas lo conozcan.

Additional examples:

• We kept the candidate's conviction under wraps until after the election.

• The plan we had under wraps had to be scrapped anyway.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: A DROP IN THE BUCKET

"A DROP IN THE BUCKET"

If an amount is a drop in the bucket, it's a very small portion of the amount that's needed. 

Example: Our government's sending a thousand tons of food, but that's just a drop in the bucket compared to what's needed.

Una mínima parte.

Example sentences:

• If a donation to help people in need is a drop in the bucket, it is not much, but better than nothing / Si una donación para ayudar a las personas necesitadas es una mínima parte, no es mucho, pero es mejor que nada.

• What we were paid for our work was a drop in the bucket compared to what the company earned / Lo que no pagaron por nuestro trabajo fue una mínima parte comparado con lo que la compañía ganó.

Additional examples:

• I know twenty dollars is just a drop in the bucket, but if everyone gave that much it'd make a big difference.

• Many companies donated food and medicine to help the survivors of the earthquake, but it was just a drop in the bucket of what was needed.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN!

"YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN!"

 

If someone says "You can say that again!", it shows they strongly agree with what was just said.

Example: Jean: "Phew! It's really hot today." Louis: "You can say that again!"

Vaya que si! / Y que lo digas!

Example sentences:

• If someone says "You can say that again!", it means they agree with what you said / Si alguien dice "Vaya que si!", significa que está de acuerdo con lo que dijiste.

• This new gadget's just brilliant. You can say that again! / Este nuevo gadget es brillante. Vaya que si!

Additional examples: 

• That was an absolutely delicious lunch.You can say that again!

• Must have been a fiddly job. You can say that again. 

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TODAY'S IDIOM: THE JURY IS STILL OUT

"THE JURY IS STILL OUT" 

We can say the jury is still out when a decision still hasn't been made about something.

Example: It was a terrible mistake, and the jury's still out on whether Bob will lose his job over it, or not.

El jurado sigue sin saber / Aún no toma la decisión

Example sentences:

• The jury's still out on who's going to be the new CEO, but we should find out soon / El jurado sigue sin saber quién va a ser el nuevo CEO, pero debemos encontrar algo pronto.

• The jury's still out on whether the new drug works because the test results are still being analysed / El jurado sigue sin saber si el nuevo fármaco funciona porque los resultados de las pruebas siguen analizándose.

Additional examples:

• The jury is still out on Jane. We don't know what we are going to do about her.

• The jury is still out on the question of building a new parking lot.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: AHEAD OF THE GAME

"AHEAD OF THE GAME"

You are ahead of the game if you have an advantage over your competitors in any activity in which you try to do better than others, such as in business, academia, sports, etc.

Example: We got ahead of the game by employing the best people in our research laboratories.

La delantera.

Example sentences:

• You'll be ahead of the game when you start at university if you do a lot of preparation before the term begins / Cuando comiences la universidad estarás en la delantera si ya te preparaste mucho antes de que empiece.

• The best way to stay ahead of the game in the fashion business is to do market research and surveys / La mejor manera de estar en la delantera en el negocio de la moda es hacer investigación de mercado y encuestas.

Additional examples:

• Without the full cooperation of my office staff, I find it hard to stay ahead of the game.

• If being ahead of the game is important to you and to your business, lease a mobile phone from us.

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TODAY'SIDIOM: OFF YOUR OWN BAT

"OFF YOUR OWN BAT"

If you do something off your own bat, you do it without being asked to or told to.

Example: One of the actresses decided, off her own bat, to change her lines in the movie. The director wasn't happy. 

Por su propia cuenta.

Example sentences:

• I didn't tell the gardener to cut down the tree. He did it off his own bat / No le dije al jardinero que cortara el árbol. Lo hizo por su propia cuenta.

• The production manager decided, off his own bat, to change the quality of the raw materials used in the factory. He did it without being asked to / El gerente de producción decidió por su propia cuenta cambiar la calidad de los materiales usados en la empresa. Lo hizo sin haber preguntado primero.

Additional examples:

• He chose to talk to the press off his own bat.

• I didn't ask her to buy them a present she did it off her own bat.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: MAKE THE MOST OF

"MAKE THE MOST OF"

If you make the most of something, you get as much as possible from it.

Example: After I retire from work I'll make the most of all the free time and do all the things I've never had time for.

Aprovechar.

Example sentences:

• The warm weather won't last long, so we should make the most of it while we can / El buen tiempo no durará mucho tiempo, por lo que debemos aprovechar mientras podamos. 

• She made the most of her time in Egypt by exploring the Pyramids / Ella aprovechó la mayor parte de su tiempo en Egipto al explorar las pirámide.

Additional examples:

• We made the most of our vacation by leaving our phones and computers turned off.

• Mary knows how to make the most of her talents.

• They designed the advertisements to make the most of the product's features.

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TODAY'S IDIOM: STICK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB / STAND OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB

"STICK OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB / STAND OUT LIKE A SORE THUMB"

If someone sticks out like a sore thumb, or stands out like a sore thumb, everyone notices them because they're not the same as the people around them.

Example: When I was in the Nigerian countryside I stood out like a sore thumb. I was the only white person around.

Sale a relucir.

Example sentences:

• Kenny stuck out like a sore thumb at the party. He was the only person wearing a suit and a tie / Kenny salió a relucir en la fiesta. Era la única persona que portaba traje y corbata.

• When Hector went to the dance club he stuck out like a sore thumb because he was the only person there who was over fifty years old / Cuando Héctor fue a la discoteca salió a relucir porque él era la única persona ahí que tenía 50 años de edad.

Additional examples:

• That pimple really sticks out like a sore thumb.

• Do you think I would stick out like a sore thumb at the party if I wear this coat?

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