Last week was April Fool’s Day, which we don’t have a good time in Argentina. Well, we do, nevertheless it’s on December 28, the so-called “Day of the Holy Innocents” to mark biblical infanticide, which is enjoyable. Anyway, we’ve talked about shopping for mailboxes and consuming tales earlier than so let’s have a look at colourful little mirrors and onerous faces.
Dar gato por liebre
To “give cat for hare” mainly means to rip-off somebody. According to a number of sources, together with youngsters’s academic journal Billiken, the phrase comes from vacationers being actually served cat meat as an alternative of the hare that they had paid for throughout the Middle Ages. Ripped off or catfished, because it had been, as a result of the feel is outwardly very related? I’m pulling out my vegan card once more, so if anybody can attest as to whether that’s true or not — don’t.
Espejitos de colores
This is similar to dar gato por liebre however on this case, you bought “colorful little mirrors” — that is often attributed to the Spanish exchanging presents with Indigenous peoples they encountered and gleefully considering they had been making a steal buying and selling coloured glass for gold. I gained’t converse to the worth judgments of Hernan Cortés or Montezuma II, however you’ll often hear this as a warning in opposition to snake oil treatments, basic scams, or low-cost issues: like hey, watch out you’re not being taken in by one thing that appears precious however actually isn’t. Like colonialism.
Tomar el pelo
We’ve had a number of hair-related translation troubles like tirado de los pelos, medio pelo, and sin pelos en la lengua. Well, right here’s how our capillary buddies can specific that you simply’ve had the wool pulled over your eyes or somebody is making enjoyable of you. While in English we’d say somebody is “pulling our leg,” in Spanish we are saying “hair” as an alternative: ¿me estás tomando el pelo?
Tener tupé
Since we’re speaking about hair, I really like this one primarily as a result of it sounds humorous and I don’t hear it within the wild sufficient. If somebody “has the toupee” it’s like saying “the audacity.” Allegedly stemming from the 1800s and initially that means ridiculous, the concept is that the person sporting the toupee was brazen sufficient to take action regardless of having gone out of fashion. No shade to toupees typically.
As a bonus, below the daring toupee, you would possibly discover a “hard face,” a cara dura — somebody who can lie, connive, negotiate, act inappropriately, or “give cat for hare” with nary a touch of disgrace.
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