Did you know that more people speak Spanish than English around the world? With 400 million speakers, it's the second-most spoken language in the world after Mandarin Chinese. Spanish is extremely versatile, and its idioms often reflect what's most important in the culture where it is spoken. It's no surprise then that so many Spanish idioms revolve around food. These 13 food-related idioms will make you sound like an expert Spanish speaker, and are also a fun way to showcase your love of food! If these phrases start making you hungry, check out the Spanish items on our shop.
This is just like our English idiom, "to be a piece of cake." It directly translates to "to be bread eaten," and means something is super simple or easy to do.
Apparently pumpkins are not a welcome gift in Spanish-speaking countries. This phrase means "to give someone pumpkins," and is used when rejecting someone's romantic advances.
"To be soaked to the bone." It literally means, "to be like a soup." It refers to getting drenched in the rain.
This phrase is similar to the English "to be thrown under the bus." The direct translation is "to be meat from a cannon." It refers to a person or group of people, usually of lower social station, who are blamed for something.
When a Spanish person tells you "te van a dar las uvas" (I'm going to give the grapes), it means that they are going to be late. The phrase comes from a New Years Eve tradition, where people eat 12 grapes at midnight to start the new year. To give someone the grapes means that you won't arrive in time to eat the 12 grapes at midnight.
"To cut the cod." This phrase is used to refer to the person who has power in a situation or group. Think, "the one who calls the shots," in English.
"De mala leche" means "of bad milk." When you use "estar" (to be) with it, it refers to being in a bad mood. When you use "tener" with it, it refers to having a bad temper.
This phrase means "to be a chorizo." A chorizo is a type of pork sausage. It's used to say someone is a thief.
Shouting "oysters" in Spanish is like shouting "woah" in English. It's an exclamation of surprise, for when you are caught off guard.