Aquí te dejamos la tercera y ultima
parte, del tema “Expresiones
idiomáticas más importantes en inglés”, la segunda parte puedes
consultarla en: http://institutobradford.blogspot.com/2016/06/las-expresiones-idiomaticas-en-ingles.html; y aunque en español nuestras frases tienen mas sabor, no esta por demás aprenderlas en inglés
Recuerda que #EnGuadalajara, puedes estudiar en nuestros
#cursos presenciales, en grupos reducidos, con atención personalizada y
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cultura!
Expresiones
idiomáticas con sus sinónimos
|
Traducción
|
Ejemplo
|
odds and ends —
a variety of small unimportant things or leftovers
|
restos, pedacitos
|
I needed
to buy some odds and ends for the kitchen.
|
off the cuff — without
preparation
|
de improviso, sin preparación
previa
|
Off the cuff,
I can give you only a rough estimate.
|
off the point — beside
the point
|
no va al caso, fuera
de la cuestión
|
What
I think about him is off the point.
|
off the record — not for
the public, unofficially
|
extraoficialmente
|
Strictly off the
record, I think the director is going to get married soon.
|
once and for all —
decidedly
|
de una vez por todas
|
You must quit
smoking once and for all.
|
on credit — not pay
cash right away
|
a crédito
|
He bought
a car on credit.
|
on edge — nervous, irritable
|
nervioso, irritado
|
He’s been
on edge ever since she left.
|
on guard —
on the alert
|
en guardia, alerta
|
He’s cautious
and always on guard.
|
on hand — available
|
a la mano
|
Do you have
a calculator on hand?
|
on one’s
own — alone,
by oneself
|
por su cuenta, independientemente
|
She likes
to live and work on her own.
|
on one’s
toes — alert,
attentive, prepared for difficulties
|
alerta
|
He was
on his toes and produced a very good impression on them.
|
on purpose — intentionally
|
a propósito, intencionalmente
|
I didn’t
do it on purpose, it just happened so.
|
on second
thought — after
thinking again
|
pensándolo bien
|
I’d like
to sit on the aisle. On second thought, I’d like a window
seat.
|
on the
alert —
on guard
|
alerta, en guardia
|
He’s cautious
and always on the alert.
|
on the
carpet — called
in by the boss for criticism
|
llamar al despacho del director,
llamar la atención, criticar
|
Yesterday the
boss called her on the carpet for being rude to the coworkers.
|
on the go — busy,
on the move
|
en marcha, en movimiento
|
He is always
on the go.
|
on the off
chance — unlikely
to happen, but still
|
es poco probable pero
|
On the off
chance that you don’t find him at work, here’s his home address.
|
on the
other hand — considering the other side of the
question
|
por otro lado
|
I’d like
to have a dog. On the other hand, my wife likes cats
better.
|
on the spot — right
there
|
en el mismo sitio
|
I decided
to do it on the spot.
|
on the spur
of the moment — without previous thought / plan
|
en la euforia del momento
|
He bought
this car on the spur of the moment, now he regrets it.
|
on time — punctual
|
a tiempo
|
Jim
is always on time.
|
out
of one’s mind — crazy
|
loco, fuera de sí
|
If you
think so, you’re out of your mind.
|
out
of one’s way — away from someone’s usual route
|
desviado del camino, fuera del camino
|
I can’t
give you a lift to the bank, it’s out of my way today.
|
out of the
question —
impossible
|
fuera de la cuestión
|
Paying him
is out of the question!
|
pack rat —
a person who saves lots of unnecessary things
|
acumulador obsesivo
|
Why does she
keep all those things she never uses? — She is a pack rat.
|
pay attention — be attentive
|
prestar atención
|
Pay attention
to his words.
|
pick
a fight — start a quarrel
|
empezar una pelea/discusión
|
He often tries
to pick a fight with me.
|
pick up — take, get
|
elegir, recoger
|
I’ll pick you
up at 7.
|
play one’s cards
right — choose
the right steps in doing something
|
jugar bien sus cartas
|
If you play
your cards right, he’ll agree to your plan.
|
potluck supper — a surprise
meal, where nobody knows what dishes other guests will bring
|
una cena en grupo donde cada quien
trae lo que quiere
|
You know what
happened at our last potluck supper? Everybody brought macaroni and
cheese, apples, and beer!
|
pull oneself
together — brace
oneself, summon your strength
|
sobreponerse
|
Stop crying and
complaining! You have to pull yourself together now.
|
pull the wool
over someone’s eyes — deceive, mislead someone
|
engañar
|
Are you trying
to pull the wool over my eyes? It won’t do you any good.
|
put
a damper on — discourage
|
poner un freno a
|
She always puts
a damper on my plans.
|
put
in a word for someone — say positive things about someone
|
defender a alguien con palabras,
decir algo bueno acerca de alguien
|
I’d be very
grateful if you could put in a word for me when you speak
to him.
|
put off — postpone
|
posponer
|
Don’t put
it off till tomorrow.
|
put one’s foot
down — object
strongly
|
oponerse fuertemente
|
Her father put
his foot down when she said she wanted to marry Alan.
|
put one’s foot
in it — do the wrong thing, make a fool
of oneself
|
meter la pata; decir /hacer algo
estúpido
|
He put his
foot in it when he told the boss his daughter wasn’t pretty.
|
put up with — accept,
tolerate
|
aguantar, tolerar
|
I can’t put
up with your bad work!
|
quite a bit
of — much,
a lot of
|
mucho
|
I had quite
a bit of trouble with that car.
|
quite a few — many,
a lot of
|
muchos
|
He wrote
quite a few good stories.
|
rack one’s brain — try hard
to think
|
esforzar el cerebro
|
He racked
his brain to solve the puzzle.
|
read between the
lines — find
or understand the implied meaning
|
leer entre líneas
|
His books are
not easy to understand; you have to read between the lines.
|
remember
me to — say hello to
|
enviar saludos
|
Please remember
me to your family.
|
right away — immediately
|
de inmediato
|
It’ very
important to do it right away.
|
ring a bell — remind
someone of something familiar /half-forgotten
|
se parece a algo, luce
familiar
|
Annabel Lee?
Yeah, it rings a bell, but I can’t place it right now.
|
rock the boat — make the
situation unstable
|
causar problemas, desestabilizar una
situación
|
Peter always
rocks the boat when we discuss company’s spending policy.
|
rub shoulders
with — meet
with
|
codearse
|
He doesn’t
rub shoulders with the rich.
|
rub someone the
wrong way — irritate, annoy, make angry
|
irritar, molestar a alguien
|
His remarks rub
many coworkers the wrong way.
|
run into — meet
by chance
|
encontrarse a alguien por
casualidad
|
I ran into
an old friend yesterday.
|
save face — try
to change the negative impression produced
|
rescatar la reputación
|
He said
a stupid thing and tried to save face by saying
he misunderstood me.
|
save one’s
breath — stop
useless talk
|
ahorrarse las palabras
|
There’s
no use talking to him about his spending habits, so save your
breath.
|
scratch the
surface — study
something superficially
|
no profundizar
en el tema, estudiar de manera superficial
|
He examines
all the facts closely, he doesn’t just scratch the surface.
|
see about — make
arrangements for
|
ocuparse de
|
I have
to see about our plane tickets.
|
see eye to eye — agree
|
compartir un mismo punto
de vista con alguien
|
We don’t
see eye to eye any longer.
|
serve someone
right — get what
someone deserves
|
recibir lo que uno se merece
|
It serves
him right that he didn’t get this job, he despised all other candidates.
|
serve one’s
purpose —
be useful to someone for his purpose
|
servir al propósito
de alguien, ser útil para el propósito de alguien
|
I doubt
that hiring this man will serve your purpose.
|
show promise — be promising
|
mostrar esperanza
|
This young actor
shows promise.
|
show up — appear
|
aparecer
|
I waited
for hours but he didn’t show up.
|
size up — evaluate someone
|
evaluar
|
It took
me 5 minutes to size up that man.
|
sleep on it — postpone
a decision till next morning
|
posponer algo hasta la mañana siguiente
|
Don’t decide
now, sleep on it.
|
a slip
of the tongue — a mistake
|
error, equivocación, lapsus
|
It was just
a slip of the tongue!
|
slip (from)
one’s mind — forget
|
olvidar
|
It slipped
my mind what she asked me.
|
smell a rat — suspect
something
|
sospechar algo
|
I’m not sure
what it is, but I smell a rat.
|
so far —
up to now
|
hasta ahora
|
So far,
I have read 3 books by King.
|
so much the
better — it’s
even better
|
aún mejor
|
If he can
pay cash, so much the better.
|
spill the beans — tell
a secret
|
soltar la sopa, decir
un secreto
|
Who spilled the
beans about our plan?
|
stand
a chance — have a chance
|
tener una oportunidad
|
He doesn’t
stand a chance of getting it.
|
stand out — be noticeable
|
destacarse
|
He stands
out in any group of people.
|
stand
to reason — be logical
|
ser lógico
|
It stands
to reason that he apologized.
|
straight from
the shoulder — speak frankly
|
sin rodeos, abiertamente
|
Don’t try
to spare my feelings, give it to me straight from
the shoulder.
|
take a dim
view of something — disapprove of something
|
tener una opinión negativa acerca
de algo
|
My sister
takes a dim view of the way I raise my children.
|
take
a break — stop for rest
|
tomar una pausa
|
Let’s take
a break, I’m tired.
|
take advantage
of — use for
one’s own benefit, to profit from
|
aprovecharse de
|
We took
advantage of the low prices and bought a computer and
a monitor.
|
take after —
be like one of the parents
|
parecerse a los padres
|
Tom takes after
his father in character, and after his mother in appearance.
|
take
a stand on something — make a firm opinion/decision
on smth.
|
tomar una posición firme respecto
a algo
|
People need
to take a stand on the issue of nuclear weapons.
|
take care of — look
after, protect, see that smth. is done properly
|
cuidar de
|
Can you take
care of my dog while I’m away? Tom takes good care of his car.
|
take hold
of something — take, hold
|
tomar, sujetar
|
Take hold
of this rope and pull.
|
take into
account — consider
smth.
|
tomar en cuenta
|
You must take
into account her old age.
|
take
it easy — relax, be calm
|
no te preocupes
|
Take
it easy, everything will be OK.
|
take (it) for
granted — accept
as given
|
dar por sentado
|
Mother’s love
is always taken for granted by children.
|
take one’s breath away
|
dejarlo a uno sin aliento
|
That great view
took my breath away.
|
take one’s time —
do slowly
|
tomarte tu tiempo, hacer algo
despacio, sin prisa
|
Don’t hurry.
Take your time.
|
take one’s word
for it — believe
|
creer en la palabra
de alguien, creerle a alguien
|
Take
my word for it, he won’t go there.
|
take pains — try hard
to do it well
|
esmerarse
|
He took
pains to make his report perfect.
|
take part
in smth. — participate in
|
tomar parte, participar
|
Mary
is going to take part in the show.
|
take place — happen
|
tomar lugar, suceder
|
The accident
took place on Oak Street.
|
take someone’s
mind off things — distract from fixed ideas/thoughts
|
distraer a alguien de sus
pensamientos
|
Go to a concert
or a movie to take your mind off things.
|
take steps — take
action /measures
|
tomar medidas, actuar
|
We need
to take steps against it.
|
take the words
right out of one’s mouth — say the same before somebody else says it
|
quitar las palabras de la boca
(decir algo que quería decir otra persona)
|
I was about
to say the same! You took the words right out of my mouth.
|
take time — take
a long time
|
tomar tiempo
|
It takes
time to get used to a new place.
|
take time off —
be absent from work
|
tomar un día libre
|
He took
time off to attend the wedding.
|
take turns —
alternate doing something one after another
|
cambiar turnos, hacer algo por turnos
|
We went
to Minsk by car. We didn’t get tired because we took
turns driving
|
talk back — answer rudely
|
replicar, responder insolentemente
|
Don’t talk back
to the teacher!
|
talk it over — discuss
|
discutir
|
I’ll talk
it over with my family.
|
tell apart — see the
difference
|
distinguir
|
Can you tell the
twins apart?
|
That’s just the
point. — That’s
it.
|
Este es el punto.
|
That’s just the
point! I hate this job!
|
the writing
on the wall — a sign of future events (usually,
trouble)
|
premonición (de algo malo)
|
The plane
crashed. Tim said he saw the writing on the wall about this flight.
|
not think much
of — think
low
|
tener un concepto bajo
de alguien
|
I don’t
think much of her cooking.
|
think over — consider carefully
|
pensar en detalle, considerar
|
Think over your
answer. Think it over carefully.
|
till one
is blue in the face — try hard
|
esforzarse demasiado
|
I repeated
it till I was blue in the face!
|
to make
a long story short — in short
|
en pocas palabras
|
To make
a long story short, we won.
|
to say the
least —
to make the minimum comment about smth.
|
para no decir más
|
The film was boring and long, to say the least.
|
try on — put
on new clothes to test them for size or look
|
probarse (la ropa)
|
Try on this
leather coat, it’s very good. She tried it on, but it didn’t fit
her at all.
|
try one’s hand
at something — try
|
probar algo, probar suerte con algo
|
I want
to try my hand at painting.
|
turn on /
off — switch
on / off
|
encender/apagar
|
Turn on the
radio. Turn off the water.
|
turn out
to be — result/end this way
|
resultar
|
He turned
out to be a very good actor.
|
turn over
a new leaf — make a fresh start in life, work,
etc.
|
empezar de nuevo, hacer borrón
y cuenta nueva
|
He promises
to turn over a new leaf and quit alcohol for good.
|
turn the tide — reverse
the course of events
|
cambiar el curso de los
eventos
|
The new evidence
turned the tide, and the defendant was acquitted of charges.
|
twist one’s arm — make
to agree
|
retorcer brazos, obligar a alguien
a hacer algo en contra de su voluntad
|
They twisted his
arm to sell the house.
|
under the
weather — feel ill
|
resfriado
|
I’m
a little under the weather today.
|
up-and-coming — showing
promise of future success
|
prometedor
|
He is an up-and-coming
young lawyer who might help you with your case.
|
up in arms —
hostile to, in strong protest against something
|
protestar, estar en contra
|
The employees
are up in arms about the new retirement rules.
|
up in the
air —
undecided
|
colgado en el aire, indefinido
|
My vacation
plans are still up in the air.
|
up to par — equal
in standard
|
adecuado y normal
|
His behavior
isn’t up to par.
|
used to — did
often in the past, but not now
|
solía (hacer algo)
|
I used
to play the piano when I was in school (but I don’t play
it now).
|
walk on air —
be very happy
|
estar en las nubes, estar muy feliz
|
He got the
job and is walking on air now.
|
waste one’s
breath — speak
uselessly, to no purpose
|
esforzarse en vano
|
Don’t waste your
breath trying to make him do it, he won’t change his mind.
|
watch one’s step —
be careful
|
tener cuidado, ser cauteloso
|
Watch your step!
|
watch out — look
out, be careful
|
tener cuidado
|
Watch out for
that car! Watch out!
|
wet blanket —
a kill-joy, who spoils everybody’s fun
|
aguafiestas
|
Remember what
a wet blanket he was last time? Please don’t invite him again.
|
What’s the
matter? — What
is it?
|
¿Qué pasa?
|
What’s the
matter? What happened?
|
which way the
wind blows — what the real situation is
|
cuál es la situación real
(en qué dirección sopla el viento)
|
He knows
which way the wind blows and always acts accordingly.
|
white lie — unimportant lie
|
mentira piadosa
|
A white lie
is told to spare your feelings.
|
word for word —
in the same words
|
literalmente
|
Tell
me word for word what he said.
|
would rather — prefer
|
preferir
|
I’d rather stay
at home today.
|
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