Expresiones Americanas // American Idioms
Muchas personas hablan inglés con frases hechas a este estilo. Para aprenderlas, memoriza toda la frase (ayuda si visualizas la frase escrito en una pizarra mental) sin cambiarla, y no busques un significado literal, que muchas veces no hay.
raining cats and dogs = raining heavily
I don’t want to go out now, it’s raining cats and dogs out there!
actions speak louder than words = what you do is more important than what you say. Can be translated as “entre dicho y hecho va un gran trecho.”
He always says he’s going to stop smoking but he never does. I guess actions speak louder than words.
add insult to injury = can be translated as “echar sal en la herida” or more colloquially “encima de puta pongo la cama.”
Not only did my car break down, but to add insult to injury, the mechanic charged me $1200.
alive and kicking = still healthy.
“How’s your grandfather these days?”
“Oh, you know. Alive and kicking.”
Cat got your tongue? = used when someone is expected to speak but doesn’t say anything.
What’s the matter? Why are you so quiet? Cat got your tongue?
forgive and forget = move on past a difficult interpersonal situation.
After we broke up, I decided to just forgive and forget. I didn’t want to think about it any more.
flat as a pancake = very flat (a landscape, for example).
Most of the state of Kansas is flat as a pancake, and you can see for miles and miles.
