Idiom Meaning (EN) Meaning (ES) Example
Break the ice Start a conversation in a social situation Romper el hielo He told a joke to break the ice.
Hit the nail on the Identify the exact issue Dar en el clavo You hit the nail on the head about the problem.
head
Bite the bullet Do something difficult or unpleasant Afrontar la situación She bit the bullet and took the exam.
Let the cat out of the Reveal a secret Revelar un secreto He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise.
bag
On the same page Have shared understanding Estar en la misma página We need to be on the same page.
A blessing in disguise Something good hidden in something bad Una bendición disfrazada Losing the job was a blessing in disguise.
Cost an arm and a leg Be very expensive Costar un ojo de la cara The repairs cost an arm and a leg.
Call it a day Stop working Terminar por hoy Let’s call it a day and continue tomorrow.
In hot water In trouble En problemas He is in hot water for arriving late.
Once in a blue moon Very rarely Muy rara vez I drink soda once in a blue moon.
Break a leg Good luck Buena suerte Break a leg on stage tonight!
Cut to the chase Get to the point Ir al grano Let’s cut to the chase and begin.
A piece of cake Very easy Pan comido The test was a piece of cake.
Spill the beans Reveal a secret Soltar la sopa He spilled the beans about the plan.
Under the weather Feeling sick Sentirse mal I’m under the weather today.
The ball is in your Your turn to decide La decisión es tuya The ball is in your court now.
court
Go the extra mile Make extra effort Hacer un esfuerzo extra She always goes the extra mile.
Sit tight Wait patiently Esperar pacientemente Sit tight while we check.
Pull someone's leg To joke Tomar el pelo I’m just pulling your leg.
In the long run Over time A largo plazo It will help in the long run.
A tough cookie A strong person Una persona fuerte She’s a tough cookie under pressure.
Cut corners Do something cheaply Hacer algo mal o rápido They cut corners and it failed.
Break even Make no profit or loss No ganar ni perder We finally broke even.
Hit the books Study hard Estudiar mucho I need to hit the books tonight.
On thin ice In danger En peligro You are on thin ice after this mistake.
Idiom Meaning (EN) Meaning (ES) Example
The early bird catches Acting early leads to success Al que madruga Dios lo ayuda He wakes early because the early bird catches the worm.
the worm
Burn the midnight oil Work late into the night Trabajar hasta tarde She burned the midnight oil to finish.
By the book Follow rules strictly Seguir las reglas They run the office by the book.
A drop in the ocean A very small amount Una gota en el océano The donation was a drop in the ocean.
Hit the jackpot Achieve great success Tener mucha suerte She hit the jackpot with that idea.
Kick the bucket To die Estirar la pata The old man finally kicked the bucket.
Play it by ear Act without planning Improvisar Let’s play it by ear.
Be on cloud nine Be extremely happy Estar muy feliz She was on cloud nine after the news.
The last straw Final problem that makes you lose La gota que colma el vaso His comment was the last straw.
patience
Break the bank Cost too much Salir carísimo The trip won’t break the bank.
Face the music Accept consequences Enfrentar las consecuencias He had to face the music at work.
Get a taste of your Be treated the way you treat others Probar tu propia medicina He finally got a taste of his own medicine.
own medicine
Go down in flames Fail spectacularly Fracasar estrepitosamente The project went down in flames.
Hit the sack Go to sleep Irse a dormir I’m tired—I’ll hit the sack.
In the nick of time Just in time Justo a tiempo We arrived in the nick of time.
Jump on the Join a trend Subirse al tren Everyone jumped on the bandwagon.
bandwagon
Keep your chin up Stay positive Mantén el ánimo Keep your chin up, things will improve.
Kill two birds with one Do two things at once Matar dos pájaros de un tiro We killed two birds with one stone.
stone
Let someone off the Release from responsibility Librar a alguien They let him off the hook this time.
hook
Miss the boat Miss an opportunity Perder la oportunidad She missed the boat on that job.
No pain no gain Effort is required to improve Sin dolor no hay ganancia Remember, no pain no gain.
On the ball Alert and competent Atento She is really on the ball today.
Pull yourself together Calm down and act normally Calmarse Pull yourself together before the meeting.
Ring a bell Sound familiar Sonar familiar The name rings a bell.
Rule of thumb General principle Regla general A good rule of thumb is to check twice.
Idiom Meaning (EN) Meaning (ES) Example
See eye to eye Agree Estar de acuerdo We finally see eye to eye.
Take it with a grain of Don’t take it too seriously Tomarlo con reserva Take the rumors with a grain of salt.
salt
The elephant in the Obvious issue no one talks about El problema obvio We must address the elephant in the room.
room
Throw in the towel Give up Rendirse She threw in the towel after many tries.
Touch base Make contact Ponerse en contacto Let’s touch base tomorrow.
Turn a blind eye Ignore intentionally Hacer la vista gorda They turned a blind eye to the issue.
Up in the air Uncertain Indefinido The plans are still up in the air.
Walk on eggshells Act carefully Andar con cuidado He walks on eggshells around his boss.
Beat around the bush Avoid the main point Andarse por las ramas Stop beating around the bush.
Blow off steam Release stress Desahogarse He jogs to blow off steam.
Burn bridges Destroy relationships Quemar puentes Don’t burn your bridges.
Cold turkey Quit something abruptly De golpe He quit smoking cold turkey.
Come clean Tell the truth Ser sincero She finally came clean.
Cut someone some Be lenient Dar un respiro Cut him some slack, he’s learning.
slack
Down to earth Practical and realistic Con los pies en la tierra She's very down to earth.
Easy does it Proceed slowly Con calma Easy does it, no rush.
Find your feet Become confident in a new situation Adaptarse He is starting to find his feet at work.
Get the hang of Learn how to do something Agarrar el truco You’ll get the hang of it.
Give someone the Trust without proof Dar el beneficio de la duda I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.
benefit of the doubt
Hit the road Leave Ponerse en marcha We should hit the road early.
In over your head More than you can handle No poder con algo He is in over his head with debt.
Jump to conclusions Assume too quickly Sacar conclusiones Don’t jump to conclusions.
Keep an eye on Watch closely Vigilar Keep an eye on your bag.
Let sleeping dogs lie Don’t cause trouble Dejar las cosas como están Let’s let sleeping dogs lie.
Make a long story Summarize Resumir To make a long story short, we won.
short
Idiom Meaning (EN) Meaning (ES) Example
Out of the blue Unexpectedly De la nada He called out of the blue.
Speak of the devil Someone appears while being talked Hablando del rey de Roma Speak of the devil, here she comes.
about
Take the bull by the Face a problem bravely Tomar el toro por los cuernos She took the bull by the horns.
horns
The best of both Ideal situation Lo mejor de ambos mundos Remote work gives the best of both worlds.
worlds
Think outside the box Be creative Pensar diferente We need to think outside the box.
Under your nose Very obvious En tus narices The keys were right under your nose.
Wash your hands of Remove responsibility Lavarse las manos He washed his hands of the matter.
something
Work your fingers to Work extremely hard Trabajar durísimo She worked her fingers to the bone.
the bone
Your guess is as No idea Ni idea Your guess is as good as mine.
good as mine
