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FEATURE REVIEW 2008
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 BULL does not always denote an animal and the type that, together with bulls—t, means bilge or baloney, is a plural tonterías, chorradas and sandeces or, for those preferring to continue the animal theme, burradas. (Edition 1203)
MODERN nutritionists nag that breakfast – desayuno is the most important meal of the day, in line with the old saying hay que desayunar como un rey, comer como un príncipe y cenar como un pobre – you should breakfast like a king, eat like a prince and dine like a pauper.. (Edition 1205)
RELUCTANCE on the part of officials to get the job done and the red tape that sometimes unravels at a snail’s pace is the legacy of decades, indeed centuries! - of bureaucracy – burocracia, but not of procrastination.
Of all the stereotypes that have been done to death about Spain and the Spanish, the mañana syndrome is the least perceptive. (Edition 1207)
NORTHERN Europeans have now discovered the Mediterranean diet but still assume that Spanish food is all olive oil, fruit, vegetables and pulses, when it also contains moderate doses of pork – cerdo. So, although pig’s trotters are all but banished from the diets of healthy English-speaking eaters, you have no problem in finding them
here as the cuter-sounding manitas de cerdo – pig’s hands. (Edition 1210)
FACE down is boca abajo and face up is boca arriba and it is not your face that is up or down, but your mouth - although it isn’t remotely connected with down in the mouth which is alicaído. This really means ‘with lowered wings’ – and what better description for that feeling when you just can’t face up to things – afrontar la vida? (Edition 1214)
MENUDO is a less-often used translation for small, slightness or insignificance. It crops up in a menudo or frequently but ¡menudo susto! presents wild Spanish understatement as over-statement and, instead of implying just a small upset, means what a fright! (Edition 1218)
SHOULD you have a cat-flap (not a good idea in rural areas where it will be used not only by small dogs but occasionally by assorted and not always reassuring wildlife) this is known as una gatera. (Edition 1221) |  Return to Top
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