Llegar y besar al santo

Llegar y besar al santo
 

When someone arrives at a place, I doesn´t have to wait, because he does what he intended to 1st thing, we say, llegar y besar el santo.
English?

I don't.
I don't quite understand. Give an example.

Hmmm not sure either. :)

Maybe Robin means like someone getting/ coming straight to business?

To cut to the chase? Something like this? :confused:

Quote:

cut to the chase (informal) to talk about or deal with the important parts of a subject and not waste time with things that are not important I didn't have long to talk to him so I cut to the chase and asked whether he was still married.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cut+to+the+chase

Maybe something like "get right down to business"?

Not exactly. It is used when somebody is successful at the first attempt. For instance, you're playing with a slot machine, but you don't earn any money and stop playing. Then, somebody goes to the machine, inserts a coin and earns a lot of money: llegó y besó al santo.

Another example: you go to a foreigner country. The first day you are there, someone offers you a very good job: llegaste y besaste al santo.

I guess its origin is due to the congregation, when they wanted to give a kiss to the image of a Saint. They used to wait for a long time in a queue until they arrived to the image. If someone was able to arrive to the image without waiting in the queue, because at that moment there weren't so much people waiting, él llegó y besó al santo.
:)

Thanks. I can't think of anything equivalent in English. :thinking:

If we're going shopping, and we go right to the item we're after and are able to get right out without waiting in line, we say:
I was in and out (in a flash).

'I got right in' can be used in many contexts, especially if there's no waiting in line.
At the supermarket: I got right in and out.
At the soccer match: We got right in, and had plenty of time to visit and buy concessions before the game started.

'First try', or 'first attempt (more formal)', would be used in the case of the slot machine. 'I won the jackpot on my first try.' You could also say 'I won the jackpot first thing.'
'First thing' usually implies 'without a wait, or directly'. We got there first thing (in the morning). (We were first to arrive. We went nowhere else first.)

If you were to move to a foreign country and immediately land a job, that would be considered a piece of good fortune/luck, and you could describe it as a windfall.

Interesting expression. :D :thumbsup:

Perhaps you could also say 'to get lucky' (eventhough this is obviously often used predominantly in sexual contexts..:D .. also it kind of lacks the 'right away/ straight away' component, but I guess you could say ' I got lucky right away'.:D)

It's interesting because the example Robin gave implied that the person who 'llegó y besó al santo' has some kind of 'control' i.e. like he or she can determine the outcome, whereas what irma describes seems to me to be more about good fortune or luck.:confused:

In which of the contexts is it more frequently used, or is it used in both? :)


PS Would this also be used in the context of e.g. '(Lying down on) a bed of roses' ? Or is there another expression in Spanish that would be more suitable? :)

It´s used in every context.

¡Está bien, gracias Robin! :) :thumbsup:

"To strike it lucky" significa más o menos lo mismo salvo que sin las connotaciones sexuales.

"He didn't have to queue" bastaría en muchos contextos. (Sólo si se supone que normalmente hay una cola literal).

Good addition. :) :thumbsup:

Just out of curiosity, this 'strikes' (to stick with the theme :p ..'strike' also being an interesting word in terms of said 'sexual connotations' :p) me to be a British expression especially, or is it also used (i.e. equally frequently) by American English natives? :)

To strike it lucky is also used in America, according to my sources. ;)

To strike it rich is a phrase I tend to hear more often. Both sayings can be used to describe a sudden, unexpected windfall of some sort, but they also have their respective differences in meaning.

Ok thanx Rusty! :D

Suddenly I remember a certain brand of cigarettes.. :rolleyes: :D

http://dulciii.files.wordpress.com/2...trike-copy.jpg

By the way what is it with sports/baseball and sexual references? :D (strike (out), score, second/third base etc..? :confused: :p)

Can anybody give an example with strike it lucky and windfall, I got lost. Thanks

I decided to try playing poker last night, and I struck it lucky. (= I won a lot)
I applied for all kinds of jobs and I struck it lucky (=I found a brilliant job)

My neighbour had a windfall today, he won the lottery.

Gracias PERIKLES.

¿En serio? No lo conozco con esas connotaciones.

Creo que las dos frases ("to strike it lucky" y "to strike it rich") tienen sus orígenes en las minerías: golpeas (golpear :approx: strike) con tu pico y das con una vena de oro o de diamantes. Eso requiere mucha suerte y te puede hacer rico (aunque en California en el 1849 los que si se hicieron ricos eran los vendedores de picos y de comida).

Muy interesante, tiene sentido! :thumbsup: :p

Yes I think I have heard/seen 'strike' used in these contexts a few times (in tv-series anyway :D). Perhaps it's more the 'slang' use but for instance 'to strike out' when a woman (or man) turns you down or e.g. in the sense of masturbation.

strike the pink match:
Jocular coinage for male masturbation .

http://www.sex-lexis.com/Sex-Diction...20pink%20match

(See also Urban Dictionary for a few other references).

Pues cuando se entere el santo hasta dónde ha llegado su hilo :eek: :D