I want to share a few of my favorite Spanish expressions with you all today. One thing that's so funny about these expressions is that they require a lot of explanation/background information, even though people say them all of the time. This round-about, sort of delayed aspect seems aptly Spanish to me.
Okay, here we go:
1. "Él/ella no tiene abuela" - This literally translates to mean "He/she doesn't have a grandmother" but is used to refer to an immodest, egotistical individual. You might rightfully ask why. Well, Spanish grandmothers (and I'm pretty sure this is universally true of all grandmothers) are famous for showering their grandchildren with constant complements. Ex: "Ayyy Paula, you are sooooo beautiful!! The most beautiful girl of all! Ayyyy!" and on on and on. So, the logic of the expression goes that someone who doesn't have a grandmother has to complement him/herself! So there you go: someone who is always going around and telling themselves how wonderful they are = alguien que no tiene abuela.
2. "No estoy muy católico/a hoy" - Yep, it translates to what you think...."I am not very Catholic today."
So here's the story - Spain is an extremely Catholic country, has always been, probably will be for a very long time. When someone is having an off day they can say "no estoy muy católico," implying that they aren't feeling quite right/something is just missing (aka JESUS)
3. ¡Mucha mierda! - literally translates to "A lot of shit!" This expression has a special place in my heart as it is the Spanish equivalent of "break a leg" in the theater/arts community. If you're wondering why (which should be) the reason dates back to the Spanish Golden Age of Theater, about the 16th century. During this time, the theater troupes would arrive by carriage. The longer the play was successful, the longer the horses would stay and, naturally, the more crap there would be! So this is where the expression of "mucha mierda" comes from. And I'm really glad that I knew what it meant. Last night the theater workshop I have been participating in all semester had its end-of-the semester performance. Before we started and the house lights went down, the directors came back and wished everyone "mucha mierda." If I hadn't learned about this expression beforehand, I would have been a tad bit confused.
These are my three favorites. I hope you've enjoyed them as well.
Que vaya bien (Be well)
AB
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