Mano is likely one of the first nouns you little doubt learnt in your Spanish language journey, and also you in all probability bought the gender fallacious initially as though it ends in an ‘o’ it’s a female phrase (la mano).
In accordance with Spain’s language academy (RAE), mano has greater than 300 makes use of within the Spanish language, however essentially the most attention-grabbing of all are the idioms which kind a part of day by day speech.
Some hand-related expressions are nearly precisely the identical as in English, whereas others are very descriptive and distinctive. Let’s take a look!
Echar una mano: That is maybe the commonest idiom with the Spanish phrase for hand. Should you ‘throw a hand’ it signifies that you assist out or give somebody a hand.
Instance:
¡Anda! Échame una mano y no te quedes ahí sentado.
Go on! Don’t simply sit there, give me a hand.
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Ponerse manos a la obra: ‘To get palms to work’ mainly means to get all the way down to work. You may as well exclaim ¡Manos a la obra! as an incentive or order, a bit like ‘all palms on deck’ in English.
Instance:
¡Manos a la obra, niños! Hay que recoger todo.
All palms on deck, youngsters! We’ve got to clear every part up.
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Mano de santo: If somebody or one thing has ‘saint’s hand’, they’re a miracle employee or it really works wonders.
Instance:
Mi abuela hace un potaje que es mano de santo para las resacas.
My grandmother makes a stew that works wonders for hangovers.
Pillar a alguien con las manos en la masa: ‘To catch somebody with their palms within the dough’ is what Spaniards say for catching somebody red-handed.
Instance:
Han pillado al ladrón con las manos en la masa.
They’ve caught the thief red-handed.
Tener las manos largas: Thieves are likely to have ‘lengthy palms’, as this expression is used to explain somebody who has a proclivity to steal or hit.
Instance:
Mucho ojo con ese jóven porque tiene las manos muy largas.
Regulate that teen as a result of he’s a little bit of a thief.
Manitas: Somebody who’s a ‘little palms’ is both very helpful or in a position with their palms, or they really work as a handyman.
Instance:
No hace falta que llames al fontanero, Lucas es bastante manitas.
No must name the plumber, Lucas is sort of helpful.
Manazas: In case you have ‘large palms’ nevertheless, it signifies that you’re clumsy.
Instance:
¿Se te cayó el vaso de agua? Eres un poco manazas, ¿eh?
You dropped the glass of water? You’re a little bit of butterfingers, proper?
Ser la mano derecha de alguien: Identical to in English, being somebody’s right-hand man means you are their first port of name or fundamental supporter/helper.
Instance:
José Mourinho period la mano derecha de Bobby Robson en el Barça.
José Mourinho was Bobby Robson’s right-hand man at Barça.
Poner la mano en el fuego por alguien: Should you ‘put the hand over the fireplace for somebody’ it signifies that you fully belief them and are prepared to vouch for them.
Instance:
Yo pongo la mano en el fuego por María, es de fiar.
I’m prepared to vouch for María. She’s reliable.
Estar con una mano delante y otra detrás: Whenever you ‘have one hand in entrance and the opposite behind’, it mainly signifies that you’re broke, you haven’t any cash.
Instance:
Es que no llego a fin de mes. Estoy con una mano delante y otra detrás.
I’m struggling to make ends meet. I’m skint.
Irse de las manos: Just like how it’s in English, this expression is used when conditions get out of hand, or uncontrolled. There’s additionally the same expression írsele a alguien la mano con algo, which applies when somebody has gone too far with one thing.
Instance:
A la señora del Ecce Homo se le fue la mano con la restauración del fresco.
The Ecce Homo woman went too far with the fresco restoration.
Lavarse las manos: This implies to observe your palms of one thing/somebody, in each the figurative and literal sense.
Instance:
Yo me lavo las manos de él. Juan es un bala perdida.
I wash my palms of him. Juan is a unfastened cannon.
Conocer algo como la palma de la mano: Whereas in English saying that somebody/one thing just like the again of your hand to point that you simply couldn’t understand it/them higher, in Spanish it’s the palm of the hand that’s used within the expression.
Instance:
Conozco cómo funciona Hacienda como la palma de mi mano.
I understand how Spain’s tax company works just like the again of my hand.
Traerse algo entre manos: This expression signifies that somebody is busy working or scheming one thing.
Instance:
Este se trae algo entre manos. Últimamente no da señales de vida.
He is scheming one thing. He’s dropped off the map not too long ago.