Phrases and Idioms

[pogo]

sitting on the fence: entre dos aguas

[celador]

interesante -- That it would be used this way in the idiomatic phrase.

entre dos aguas / among (or between) two waters

el sentarse en la cerca / he sits on the fence

[Elaina]

Hola....

As far as idioms go, I think you can find many that mean the same thing. For example:

A otro perro con ese hueso .... can also mean..... me quiere ver el pelo -o- me quiere tomar el pelo..... or - me quiere ver la cara - I don't think you can truly translate this to English and make sense.

What about.... "tengo mucho colmillo" which means I am too experienced for you to fool me.

Try this one....
Cuando digo que la burra es parda es porque tengo los pelos en la mano...

Good luck with that one.
Elaina

[celador]

Cuando digo que la burra es parda es porque tengo los pelos en la mano

this phrase in English means: When you have hairy palms, you are an ass.

(pero solamente una persona retardada comprobaría para ver.)

[Tomisimo]

I did some research on this phrase (including asking some Mexicans) and found a few variations:

Cuando digo que la burra es parda, es porque tengo los pelos en la mano.
Cuando digo que la burra es parda, es porque traigo los pelos en la mano.
Cuando digo que la mula es pinta, es porque traigo los pelos en la mano.
Cuando digo que el caballo es pardo, es porque tengo los pelos en la mano.

What this means is basically that you should think about what you're going to say before saying it. Something like "Think before you speak", or "don't state the obvious". Literally, it means When I say the donkey/mule is brown/gray, it's because I have (some of its) hairs in my hand. In other words you're stating the obvious, and you should have thought about what you were going to say before saying it.

[celador]

Ooops... I should have thought about what I said.

That's an old joke we did as kids. About the hairy palms. lol

[Tomisimo]

Originally Posted by celador

Ooops... I should have thought about what I said.

That's an old joke we did as kids. About the hairy palms. lol

not a problem.

[Tomisimo]

So Elaina... who's right, celador or me?

[Elaina]

Well put David! I think you are right and I would prefer your response.

It means ..... when I say something or state something, I know for a fact that it is true because I have proof (traigo los pelos en la mano). This saying was used many, many years ago in Mexico. I work with elderly people and I have learned so much..... culture, language, idioms/sayings, etc.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explain this particular saying that I thought was so funny when I first learned it.

Eliana