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Phrases and Idioms

 

An idiom is an expression whose meaning is not readily apparent based on the individual words in the expression. This forum is dedicated to discussing idioms and other sayings.


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  #11  
Old June 15, 2007, 03:01 PM
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sitting on the fence: entre dos aguas
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  #12  
Old June 16, 2007, 09:36 PM
celador celador is offline
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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
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  #13  
Old June 25, 2007, 08:33 PM
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Elaina Elaina is offline
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Idioms

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
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  #14  
Old June 26, 2007, 04:42 PM
celador celador is offline
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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.)
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  #15  
Old June 27, 2007, 12:25 PM
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Tomisimo Tomisimo is offline
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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.
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  #16  
Old June 29, 2007, 07:55 AM
celador celador is offline
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Ooops... I should have thought about what I said.

That's an old joke we did as kids. About the hairy palms. lol
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  #17  
Old June 29, 2007, 03:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by celador View Post
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.
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  #18  
Old June 29, 2007, 03:12 PM
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So Elaina... who's right, celador or me?
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  #19  
Old July 01, 2007, 10:55 PM
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Wink

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
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