350 Frases en inglés que te serán útiles en cualquier conversación

A un hablante nativo se le distingue fácilmente no solo por su acento y habilidad para formar frases, sino también por el conjunto de expresiones que utiliza. El conocimiento de estas frases, obviamente, no te convertirá en un experto en inglés pero te ayudará a entender a los nativos bien y mantener cualquier conversación.

Genial.guru te presenta las expresiones idiomáticas más importantes en inglés con su traducción y ejemplo de uso.

Expresiones idiomáticas con sus sinónimos	Traducción	Ejemplo
after all — despite, nevertheless	después de todo, al fin y al cabo	I knew it! After all, I was right!
all along — all the time	todo el tiempo	I knew about his little secret all along.
all ears — eager to listen	todo oídos	I am all ears.
all of a sudden — suddenly	de repente, de pronto	All of a sudden, he refused to pay.
all the same — no difference	da igual, lo mismo; de todos modos	If it’s all the same to you, let’s start at two.
all thumbs — clumsy	torpe	He can’t fix anything, he’s all thumbs.
apple of discord — subject of envy or quarrel	manzana de la discordia	This question is an apple of discord in our family.
as a rule — usually	como regla general	As a rule, we offer a 5% discount.
as far as I am concerned — in my opinion	en lo que a mí respecta	As far as I am concerned, both the book and the movie are good.
as for me/as to me — in my opinion	en cuanto a mí	As for me, you can rely on his support.
as well — also, too	también	He knows math, and physics as well.
at all — (not) in the smallest degree	en lo más mínimo, en absoluto	He doesn’t know French at all. I don’t like it at all.
at random — without order	al azar	He chose those places at random.
at this point — at this time	a estas alturas	At this point, we can’t turn back.
be about to — ready (to do)	estar a punto de	I was about to leave when you called.
be after someone — insist, press	estar tras alguien; insistir, presionar	His mother is always after him to study.
be all in — be extremely tired	estar hecho polvo	I’m all in, I’d better go to bed now.
be back on one’s feet — healthy again or better financially	recuperarse después de un tiempo difícil; ponerse de pie otra vez	He’s back on his feet after a long period of debt and unemployment.
beat around the bush — avoid giving a clear/definite answer	irse por las ramas	Stop beating around the bush! Get to the point!
be beside oneself — be very upset, nervous, worried, etc.	estar fuera de sí	She was beside herself with worry / with grief.
be better off — be in a better situation	estar en una mejor situación	He’ll be better off with a new job.
be broke — have no money at all	estar en bancarrota	I spent all my money, I’m broke.
be hard on something /someone — treat roughly	ser duro con algo/alguien	My son is hard on shoes, they don’t last long with him. Life was pretty hard on Tom.
be high on one’s list — be one of the most important things	encabezar la lista de los asuntos importantes	A new car is high on my list of priorities. A new TV is not high on my list.
be in charge of — be responsible for	estar a cargo de, ser responsable de	He is in charge of marketing.
be in the red — be in debt	estar en deuda, estar quebrado	Our sales were in the red last year.
be into smth. — be interested in	estar interesado/apasionado por algo	He is into computers. She is into sports.
bend over backwards — try hard	hacer todo lo que se pueda	I bent over backwards to help her.
be on one’s way	estar en el camino	I’m on my way.
be on the safe side — not to take any chances	para mayor seguridad	Take an extra key, just to be on the safe side.
be out of — be without	estar fuera de, estar desabastecido, no tener	We are out of bread, cheese, and sugar.
be out of shape — be physically unfit	no estar en forma / estar en mala condición física	He needs to exercise, he is out of shape.
be out of sorts — in bad humor	estar de mal humor	Leave him alone, he’s out of sorts today
be pressed for time / money — be short of; not have enough	estar presionado por tiempo/dinero (no tener suficiente tiempo/dinero por el momento)	I’m pressed for time now. We are pressed for money at the moment.
beside the point — off the point	ajeno a la cuestión, no va al caso	What I said to him privately is beside the point.
be to blame — be responsible for a mistake / something wrong	ser culpable	Who is to blame for this awful mistake? Tom is to blame for this mix-up.
be touch and go — be uncertain of the result	pender de un hilo	He was very sick, and for some time it was touch and go, but he is better now.
be up against — be opposed by, have problems, be in danger	enfrentar (a algo/alguien), encontrarse ante problemas	Our company is up against serious attempts of hostile takeover.
be up and around/about — able to be out of bed after an illness	volver a andar, recuperarse (después de una enfermedad)	He was sick for a month, but now he is up and around.
be up to one’s ears — very busy	estar muy ocupado	I’m up to my ears in work.
be up to something — do mischief	estar tramando algo	I have to check what the kids are up to.
be up to someone — be one’s own decision or responsibility	ser decisión de alguien, corresponderle a alguien	It’s up to you to decide. It’s up to you to close the office every day at 8 o’clock.
be used to — be accustomed to	estar acostumbrado a	I’m used to hard work. He’s used to heat.
big shot — important person	persona importante	He is a big shot around here.
bite off more than one can chew — try to do more than one can	sobrevalorar tus fuerzas («morder más de lo que puedes masticar»)	I couldn’t handle two jobs and family. I really bit off more than I could chew.
bite one’s tongue — stop talking	morderse la lengua, dejar de hablar	I almost told her, but bit my tongue.
bite the dust — die, be defeated	morder el polvo, morir	Many of them bit the dust in that war.
black sheep — a good-for-nothing member of the family	oveja negra	Their second son is the black sheep of the family, he is good for nothing.
blind date — a meeting of a man and woman arranged by friends	cita a ciegas	She refuses to go on a blind date again because she had bad experience.
blow it — lose the chance	perder la oportunidad	He understood that he blew it.
blow over — pass, end	pasar	Wait here till his anger blows over.
bottom line — main result/factor	resultado	The bottom line is, I don’t have enough money.
break into — enter by force	entrar por la fuerza, penetrar	The police broke into the robber’s house.
break one’s heart — hurt deeply	romper el corazón de alguien	The news of her death broke his heart.
break the ice — overcome shyness in making the first step	romper el hielo (superar la timidez y dar el primer paso)	The party was dull until someone broke the ice with a joke and we all laughed.
break the news — tell new facts	difundir la información	CNN is breaking the news right now.
bring home the bacon — earn the living for the family	proveer a la familia	He works very hard at several places to bring home the bacon.
brush off — give no attention to	no hacer caso	The boss brushed off my project again.
brush up on — review	repasar, refrescar la memoria	You need to brush up on the tenses.
by all means -definitely, certainly	definitivamente, por supuesto	Do you need my help? — By all means.
by heart — by memorizing	de memoria	Learn this poem by heart for tomorrow.
by hook or by crook — by any means possible	como sea	She will get what she wants by hook or by crook.
by the way — incidentally	por cierto	By the way, Ann is coming back today.
call a spade a spade — use plain, direct words	llamar a las cosas por su nombre	He always tells the truth and calls a spade a spade.
call it a day — consider work finished for the day	considerar el trabajo terminado	We’ve been working for 10 straight hours. Let’s call it a day.
call off — cancel	cancelar	The police called off the search.
carry out — fulfill	realizar, cumplir	She never carries out her plans.
carry weight — be important	tener peso en, influir, ser importante	His advice always carries weight here.
cast down — depressed, sad	desanimar	He was cast down by the bad news.
castles in the air — daydreaming about success	(construir) castillos en el aire	Instead of working hard, he spends time building castles in the air.
catch one’s eye — attract attention	llamar la atención	This picture caught my eye.
catch one’s breath — stop and rest	recobrar el aliento	I can’t run, I need to catch my breath.
catch someone off guard — catch someone unprepared	tomar por sorpresa	He caught me off guard with his question.
catch someone red-handed — find smb. in the act of doing wrong	sorprender a alguien con las manos en la masa	The manager caught the boy red-handed when he was stealing cigarettes.
catch up — become not behind	ponerse al día	He needs to catch up with the others.
close call — a narrow escape, a bad thing that almost happened	por poco sucede algo malo (escaparse por milagro)	The speeding car almost hit the man. That was really a close call.
come across — meet by chance	encontrar	I came across that article yesterday.
come down with — become ill	caer resfriado	I’m coming down with a cold.
come to one’s senses — start acting reasonably, intelligently	entrar en razón	He finally came to his senses, started to work hard, and passed his exams.
come true — become reality	volverse realidad	My dream came true when I met Pat.
come up with — suggest	proponer	Mike came up with a brilliant idea.
count on — depend on	contar con	You can always count on me for help.
cut corners — to take a short-cut; to limit one’s spending	buscar atajos, omitir procedimientos	He ran fast, cutting corners where he could. I have to cut corners this week.
cut down on — reduce	reducir el consumo	You have to cut down on chocolate.
cut out to be /cut out for it — have the ability to do something	estar hecho para (algún trabajo)	She isn’t cut out to be a surgeon. He’s cut out to be a leader.
do one’s best — try very hard	dar lo mejor de sí	I did my best to help him in his work.
do one’s bit — do what’s needed	aportar su granito de arena; hacer lo necesario	I’ll do my bit, you can count on me.
do over — do again	rehacer	This work is not good, do it over.
do someone good — be good for	beneficiar	Fresh air and exercise will do you good.
do something behind one’s back — do (harmful) things secretively	hacer algo a espaldas de uno	I hate people who do things behind my back. He did it behind my back again.
do without — live without	vivir sin, prescindir	I’ll have to do without a car for a while.
down to earth — practical	práctico, realista	He’s quiet, sensible and down to earth.
draw the line — fix a limit	trazar la línea, limitar	He drew the line for her at $100 a day.
dress up — put on the best clothes	ponerse la mejor ropa	What are you dressed up for?
drop off — deliver somewhere	llevar (a una persona a un lugar), dejar (a una persona en un lugar)	Can you drop me off at the bank?
drop out — quit (school)	abandonar	He dropped out of school last year.
duty calls — must fulfill obligations	el deber llama	He said, «Duty calls» and left for work.
easier said than done	es más fácil decir que hacerlo	It’s easier said than done, but I’ll try to do it.
eat one’s words — take back words	tragarse las palabras	He had to eat his words after her report.
even so — nevertheless, but	aún así	I work hard. Even so, I like my job.
every now and then -occasionally	de vez en cuando	Every now and then I visit my old aunt.
every other day — every second one	cada dos días; un día sí y un día no	She washes her hair every other day.
fall behind — lag behind	quedarse atrás	The little boy fell behind the older boys.
fall in love — begin to love	enamorarse	Tom fell in love with Sue at first sight.
fall out of love — stop loving	dejar de amar	They fell out of love and divorced soon.
false alarm — untrue rumor	falsa alarma	I heard he quit but it was a false alarm.
a far cry from something — very different, almost opposite (neg.)	muy lejos de ser algo, muy diferente a lo que creías	His second book wasn’t bad, but it was a far cry from his first book.
feel it in one’s bones — expect something bad to happen	tener una corazonada (presentimiento)	Something bad is going to happen, I feel it in my bones.
feel like doing something — want to do, be inclined to do smth.	antojarse de hacer algo, sentir ganas de hacer algo	I feel like going for a walk. I don’t feel like working now, I’m tired.
feel up to — be able to do	tener ánimo para hacer algo	I don’t feel up to cleaning the house.
few and far between — rare, scarce	muy pocos, escasos	Her visits are few and far between.
find fault with — criticize	encontrar fallos, criticar	He always finds faults with everybody.
find out — learn or discover	averiguar, descubrir	I found out that Maria left town.
firsthand — directly from the source	de primera mano	You can trust it, it’s firsthand information.
first things first — important things come before others	primero lo primero	First things first: how much money do we have to pay right away?
fly off the handle — get angry	perder los estribos	He flew off the handle and yelled at me.
follow in someone’s footsteps — do the same thing	seguir los pasos de otro	Igor followed in his father’s footsteps, he became a doctor, too.
foot in the door — a special opportunity for a job	tener un pie adentro (tener una oportunidad de trabajo)	Nina got a foot in the door because her friend works in that company.
foot the bill — pay the bill	pagar	Her father footed the bill for the party.
for good — forever	para siempre	After her death, he left town for good.
for the time being — at this time	por el momento, por ahora	For the time being, this house is all right for us.
frame of mind — mental state	estado de ánimo	I can’t do it in this frame of mind.
from A to Z — completely	conocer algo de pe a pa; de cabo a rabo	He knows this town from A to Z.
from now on — now and in the future	desde ahora, a partir de ahora	From now on, I forbid you to go there.
get a grip on oneself — take control of one’s feelings	obtener control sobre sí mismo	Stop crying! Get a grip on yourself!
get along with — have good relations	llevarse bien con	Ann gets along with most coworkers, but doesn’t get along with Laura.
get away with — not be caught after doing wrong	evitar el castigo, escapar de la justicia	The police didn’t find the thief. He got away with his crime.
get carried away — get too excited and enthusiastic about something	entusiasmarse	He got carried away with opening a store and lost most of his money.
get cold feet — be afraid to do	entrarle miedo a alguien	I wanted to try it but got cold feet.
get even with — have one’s revenge	desquitarse	I’ll get even with him for everything!
get in touch with — contact	contactar a alguien	Get in touch with Mr. Smith for help.
get lost — lose one’s way	perderse	She got lost in the old part of town.
Get lost! — Lay off!	¡Vete! ¡Desaparécete! ¡Lárgate!	I don’t want to see you again. Get lost!
get mixed up — get confused	confundir	I got mixed up, went the wrong way and got lost.
get off one’s back — leave alone	dejar a alguien en paz	Stop bothering me! Get off my back!
get on one’s high horse — behave haughtily towards someone	actuar como si fueras mejor que otras personas, ser engreído	Every time I ask her to help me with typing, she gets on her high horse.
get on (the bus, train, plane)	subir (el transporte)	I got on the bus on Oak Street.
get off (the bus, train, plane)	bajar (el transporte)	I got off the bus at the bank.
get out of hand — get out of control	salirse de las manos, fuera de control	If he gets out of hand again, call me right away.
get over — recover after an illness or bad experience	recuperarse después de una enfermedad o mala experiencia, superar	I can’t get over how rude he was to me. She got over her illness quite quickly.
get rid of — dispose of, discard	deshacerse	He got rid of his old useless car.
get together — meet with	reunirse	My friends and I get together often.
get to the bottom — know deeply	llegar al fondo de algo	He usually gets to the bottom of things.
get to the point — get to the matter	ir al grano	Get to the point!
Give me a break! — spare me	¡Dame un respiro! ¡Déjame!	Come on, stop it! Give me a break!
give someone a hand — help	dar la mano, ayudar	Can you give me a hand with cooking?
give someone a lift /a ride — take to some place by car	llevar a alguien en auto	Can you give me a lift to the bank? He gave her a ride in his new Porsche.
give someone a piece of one’s mind — criticize frankly	criticar, decir abiertamente lo que piensas	She lost my umbrella again, so I gave her a piece of my mind about her carelessness.
give up — stop doing something, stop trying to do something	rendirse	I gave up smoking. I gave up trying to fix my old car.
go back on one’s word — break a promise	romper la palabra/promesa	First he said he would help me, but then he went back on his word.
go for it — try to do a new thing	intentar algo nuevo	If I were you, I would go for it.
go from bad to worse — be worse	ir de mal en peor	His business went from bad to worse.
go out — go to parties, movies	salir (de fiesta, al cine, etc.)	Do he and his wife go out often?
go out of one’s way -try very hard	poner mucho esfuerzo, intentar mucho	He goes out of his way to please her.
go to one’s head — make too proud	subirse a la cabeza (éxito), sentirse demasiado orgulloso	His acting success went to his head.
go to pieces — get very upset, fall apart	derrumbarse, quedar deshecho	She went to pieces when she heard it.
go with the flow — lead quiet life	ir con la corriente	She always goes with the flow.
grow on someone — become liked	gustar poco a poco	When she knew him more, he grew on her.
had better — should	más vale que	You look ill, you’d better see a doctor.
have a ball — have a good time	pasarla bien	Yesterday we had a ball at the party.
have a bone to pick — complain or discuss something unpleasant	tener una cuenta que ajustar	Mr. Brown, I have a bone to pick with you. My mail was lost because of you.
have a word with someone — talk to	hablar con alguien	Can I have a word with you?
have words with someone — argue with someone about something	hablar muy seriamente con alguien /discutir	I had words with my coworker today because he used my computer again.
have it in him — have the ability	tener habilidades	Laura has it in her to be a good doctor.
have no business doing something — have no right to do	no es tu asunto, no tienes derecho de (estar aquí, hacer esto, etc.)	You have no business staying here without my permission.
have one’s back to the wall — be hard-pressed, on the defensive	estar entre la espada y la pared	I had no choice, I had my back to the wall.
have one’s hands full — very busy	estar muy ocupado	He has his hands full with hard work.
have one’s heart set on something — want something very much	querer algo demasiado, ansiar algo	She has her heart set on going to New York. He has his heart set on Betty.
have pull — have influence on	influir, pesar	Does he have pull with the director?
(not) have the heart — (not) have the courage to do smth. unpleasant	(no) atreverse a hacer algo desagradable; (no) tener corazón para	I don’t have the heart to tell him that he wasn’t accepted, he’ll be so unhappy.
high and low — everywhere	en todas partes (en el cielo y en la tierra, cuando se refiere a búsquedas)	I searched high and low for my lost cat.
hit the nail on the head — say exactly the right thing	acertar	You hit the nail on the head when you said our company needs a new director.
hit upon something — to discover	pensar en algo; descubrir	They hit upon gold. I hit upon a plan.
hold it against someone — blame somebody for doing something	guardar rencores en contra de alguien; culpar a alguien por algo	I lost his book, but he doesn’t hold it against me.
Hold it! — Stop! Wait!	¡Detente! ¡Espera!	Hold it! I forgot my key.
Hold on! — Wait!	¡Espera!	Hold on! I’ll be back in a minute.
hold one’s own — maintain oneself in a situation, behave as needed	mantenerse firme	He can hold his own in any situation. We need men who can hold their own.
hold up — rob using a weapon	asaltar, atacar	This bank was held up twice last year.

ill at ease — uncomfortable	disgustado, incómodo	She felt ill at ease because of her cheap dress.
in advance — well before	de antemano	He told her about his plan in advance.
in a nutshell — in a few words	en breve, en pocas palabras	In a nutshell, my plan is to buy land.
in care of someone — write to one person at the address of another	(escribir) a alguien a la dirección de otra persona (al cuidado de)	I’m staying at Tom’s house. Write to me in care of Tom Gray, Chicago, Illinois.
in cold blood — mercilessly	a sangre fría	He killed her in cold blood.
in fact — actually, in reality	de hecho, en realidad	In fact, he works as a manager here.
in general — generally, generally speaking	en general	In general, he likes to be alone. He described the place only in general.
in one’s element — what one likes	estar como pez en el agua	He’s in his element when he’s arguing.
in other words — using other words	en otras palabras	In other words, you refused to do it for her.
in plain English — in simple, frank terms	sencillamente hablando	I didn’t really like the concert. In plain English, the concert was terrible.
the ins and outs — all info about	los pormenores	He knows the ins and outs of this business.
in someone’s shoes — in another person’s position	en los zapatos de alguién, en lugar de otra persona	I’d hate to be in his shoes now. He lost his job, and his wife is in the hospital.
in the long run — in the end	al final de cuentas	In the long run, it’ll be better to buy it.
in the same boat — in the same situation	en el mismo barco; en la misma situacion	Stop arguing with me, we’re in the same boat and should help each other.
in the clear — free from blame	estar fuera de sospecha	Pay the bill and you’ll be in the clear.
in time (to do something) — before something begins	a tiempo (para hacer algo)	I came in time to have a cup of coffee before class.
it goes without saying — should be clear without words	no hace falta decir nada	It goes without saying that he must pay what he owes right away.
It’s on the tip of my tongue.	está en la punta de mi lengua	His name is on the tip of my tongue.
it’s time — should do it right away	es hora	Hurry up, it’s time to go.
It’s worth it. / It’s not worth it. It’s (not) worth buying, visiting, watching, etc.	lo vale / no lo vale vale la pena / no vale la pena	Watch this film, it’s worth it. Don’t buy this coat, it is not worth it. This museum is worth visiting. This film is not worth watching.
it will do — it’s enough	es suficiente	Stop reading, it will do for now.
jump at the opportunity/chance — accept the opportunity eagerly	aprovechar la oportunidad	His boss mentioned a job in Europe, and Peter jumped at the opportunity.
just as soon — prefer this one	preferiría	I’d just as soon stay home, I’m tired.
just in case — to be on the safe side	por si acaso	Take an extra shirt, just in case.
Just my luck! — Bad / Hard luck!	¡Vaya suerte que tengo! ¡Qué mala suerte!	They lost my job application. Just my luck!
keep an eye on — take care of, watch, look after	estar pendiente; vigilar	Betty keeps an eye on my sons for me. I’ll keep an eye on you!
keep a straight face — not to laugh	mantener la cara seria	I tried to keep a straight face, but failed.
keep company — accompany	hacer compañía	She keeps me company quite often.
keep one’s word — fulfill a promise	mantener la palabra	You promised, now keep your word.
keep someone posted — inform	mantener a alguien al tanto / informado	Keep me posted about your plans.
keep your fingers crossed — hope that nothing will go wrong	cruzar los dedos	I have a job interview today. Keep your fingers crossed for me, will you?
kill time — fill/spend empty time	matar el tiempo	I went to the show to kill time.
(not) know the first thing about — not to have any knowledge about	no saber nada acerca de	I don’t know the first thing about nuclear physics.
know the ropes — be very familiar with some business	estar al tanto	He knows all the ropes in this company.
last-minute notice — little or no time to prepare for something	noticia de útimo minuto	His arrival was a last-minute notice, we didn’t have time to prepare for it.
lay one’s cards on the table — be frank and open	poner las cartas sobre la mesa; ser sincero y abierto	Finally, we asked him to lay his cards on the table and tell us about his plans.
lay one’s life on the line — put oneself in a dangerous situation	poner la vida en juego, arriesgar la vida	He laid his life on the line to fulfill this task, but nobody appreciated his efforts.
lead a dog’s life — live in misery	llevar una vida de perros	He leads a dog’s life.
lead someone on — make someone believe something that isn’t true	engañar, hacer a alguien creer que es cierto	They suspect that you are leading them on. You led me on!
leave it at that — accept reluctantly	dejar las cosas como son	Leave it at that, what else can you do?
leave word — leave a message	dejar un mensaje	He left word for you to meet him at the airport at 6.
let bygones be bygones — forget and forgive bad things in the past	lo pasado, pasado está	Why don’t you let bygones be bygones and forget about what he said?
let go of — release the hold	soltar, dejar ir	Let go of my hand or I’ll call the guard.
let (it) go — forget bad experience, return to normal life	dejarlo ir, superar malas experiencias	He’s still in despair and can’t let (it) go. You can’t change anything, so let it go.
let one’s hair down — be relaxed and informal with other people	soltarse la melena, echarse una cana al aire, relajarse	She is always so formal. She never lets her hair down.
let someone down — disappoint, fail someone	quedar mal con alguien, decepcionar a alguien	Don’t let me down this time!
let someone know — inform	notificar, informar	Let me know when you find a job.
like father, like son — be like one’s parent in something	de tal palo, tal astilla	Paul won a prize in a chess tournament. Great! Like father, like son!
little by little — step by step	poco a poco	Little by little, he got used to Tokyo.
look for — search for	buscar	What are you looking for?
look forward to — expect with pleasure	esperar con impaciencia	I’m looking forward to your letter. Mary is looking forward to the party.
look out — be careful, watch out	tener cuidado	Look out! The bus is coming!
look up — check with /in a dictionary or a reference book	buscar (información en un diccionario, Internet, etc.)	If you don’t know this word, look it up in the dictionary.
lose one’s temper — become angry	perder la paciencia, enojarse	He loses his temper very often.
lose one’s way — get lost	perder el camino, perderse	I lost my way. Can you help me?
lose track of — not to know where someone or something is	perder el hilo/la pista	I lost track of him years ago.
lucky break — a lucky chance	golpe de suerte	He got his lucky break when he got this job.
make a living — earn money to provide for life	ganarse la vida	He works hard. His family is big, and he has to make a living somehow.
make allowance for — take into consideration when judging	tener en cuenta	Don’t criticize him so hard, make (an) allowance for his inexperience.
make a point of — be sure to do something intentionally	poner empeño en (hacer algo); hacer algo intencionalmente; tender a/intentar	Make a point of asking about his wife. Make it a point to be here by 10.
make ends meet — to have and spend only what one earns	llegar a fin de mes; sobrevivir con pocos ingresos	His doesn’t get much money. I wonder how he manages to make ends meet.
make friends — become friends	hacer amigos	Anton makes new friends easily.
make fun of — laugh at, joke about	burlarse de	He made fun of her German accent.
make no bones about it — say/do openly, without hesitation	no darle más vueltas, no andar por las ramas	I’ll make no bones about it: I don’t like your attitude to work.
make room for — allow space for	liberar espacio para	We can make room for one more dog.
make sense — be logical	tener sentido	What you say makes sense.
make the most of smth — do the best in the given situation	sacar lo mejor de	Let’s make the most of our vacation.
make up — become friends again	reconciliarse	I’m tired of fighting. Let’s make up.
make up for smth — compensate	recompensar	I’ll make up for the time you spent on it.
make up one’s mind — decide	tomar una decisión	When will you go? Make up your mind.
make yourself at home — be comfortable, feel at home	siéntete como en tu casa	Come in please. Make yourself at home.
man of his word — one who keeps promises, is dependable	el hombre de palabra	You can depend on his promise to help. He’s a man of his word.
mean well — have good intentions	tener buenas intenciones	He meant well, but it turned out that he spoiled a couple of things for me.
might as well — a good idea	podrías aprovechar y hacerlo (es buena idea hacer algo)	I might as well telephone him now.
missing person — someone who is lost and can’t be located	persona desaparecida	The little boy disappeared. The police registered him as a missing person.
meet someone halfway — compromise with others	encontrar un término medio	He’s reasonable and tries to meet his coworkers halfway, when possible.
never mind — it doesn’t matter	olvídalo, no importa	Thank you. — Never mind.
not to mention — in addition to	sin mencionar	We have three dogs, not to mention two cats.
no wonder — not surprising	no es una sorpresa	He ate three big fish. No wonder he’s sick.
now and again — occasionally	de vez en cuando	I meet them now and again at the bank.

odds and ends — a variety of small unimportant things or leftovers	restos, pedacitos	I needed to buy some odds and ends for the kitchen.
off the cuff — without preparation	de improviso, sin preparación previa	Off the cuff, I can give you only a rough estimate.
off the point — beside the point	no va al caso, fuera de la cuestión	What I think about him is off the point.
off the record — not for the public, unofficially	extraoficialmente	Strictly off the record, I think the director is going to get married soon.
once and for all — decidedly	de una vez por todas	You must quit smoking once and for all.
on credit — not pay cash right away	a crédito	He bought a car on credit.
on edge — nervous, irritable	nervioso, irritado	He’s been on edge ever since she left.
on guard — on the alert	en guardia, alerta	He’s cautious and always on guard.
on hand — available	a la mano	Do you have a calculator on hand?
on one’s own — alone, by oneself	por su cuenta, independientemente	She likes to live and work on her own.
on one’s toes — alert, attentive, prepared for difficulties	alerta	He was on his toes and produced a very good impression on them.
on purpose — intentionally	a propósito, intencionalmente	I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened so.
on second thought — after thinking again	pensándolo bien	I’d like to sit on the aisle. On second thought, I’d like a window seat.
on the alert — on guard	alerta, en guardia	He’s cautious and always on the alert.
on the carpet — called in by the boss for criticism	llamar al despacho del director, llamar la atención, criticar	Yesterday the boss called her on the carpet for being rude to the coworkers.
on the go — busy, on the move	en marcha, en movimiento	He is always on the go.
on the off chance — unlikely to happen, but still	es poco probable pero	On the off chance that you don’t find him at work, here’s his home address.
on the other hand — considering the other side of the question	por otro lado	I’d like to have a dog. On the other hand, my wife likes cats better.
on the spot — right there	en el mismo sitio	I decided to do it on the spot.
on the spur of the moment — without previous thought / plan	en la euforia del momento	He bought this car on the spur of the moment, now he regrets it.
on time — punctual	a tiempo	Jim is always on time.
out of one’s mind — crazy	loco, fuera de sí	If you think so, you’re out of your mind.
out of one’s way — away from someone’s usual route	desviado del camino, fuera del camino	I can’t give you a lift to the bank, it’s out of my way today.
out of the question — impossible	fuera de la cuestión	Paying him is out of the question!
pack rat — a person who saves lots of unnecessary things	acumulador obsesivo	Why does she keep all those things she never uses? — She is a pack rat.
pay attention — be attentive	prestar atención	Pay attention to his words.
pick a fight — start a quarrel	empezar una pelea/discusión	He often tries to pick a fight with me.
pick up — take, get	elegir, recoger	I’ll pick you up at 7.
play one’s cards right — choose the right steps in doing something	jugar bien sus cartas	If you play your cards right, he’ll agree to your plan.
potluck supper — a surprise meal, where nobody knows what dishes other guests will bring	una cena en grupo donde cada quien trae lo que quiere	You know what happened at our last potluck supper? Everybody brought macaroni and cheese, apples, and beer!
pull oneself together — brace oneself, summon your strength	sobreponerse	Stop crying and complaining! You have to pull yourself together now.
pull the wool over someone’s eyes — deceive, mislead someone	engañar	Are you trying to pull the wool over my eyes? It won’t do you any good.
put a damper on — discourage	poner un freno a	She always puts a damper on my plans.
put in a word for someone — say positive things about someone	defender a alguien con palabras, decir algo bueno acerca de alguien	I’d be very grateful if you could put in a word for me when you speak to him.
put off — postpone	posponer	Don’t put it off till tomorrow.
put one’s foot down — object strongly	oponerse fuertemente	Her father put his foot down when she said she wanted to marry Alan.
put one’s foot in it — do the wrong thing, make a fool of oneself	meter la pata; decir /hacer algo estúpido	He put his foot in it when he told the boss his daughter wasn’t pretty.
put up with — accept, tolerate	aguantar, tolerar	I can’t put up with your bad work!
quite a bit of — much, a lot of	mucho	I had quite a bit of trouble with that car.
quite a few — many, a lot of	muchos	He wrote quite a few good stories.
rack one’s brain — try hard to think	esforzar el cerebro	He racked his brain to solve the puzzle.
read between the lines — find or understand the implied meaning	leer entre líneas	His books are not easy to understand; you have to read between the lines.
remember me to — say hello to	enviar saludos	Please remember me to your family.
right away — immediately	de inmediato	It’ very important to do it right away.
ring a bell — remind someone of something familiar /half-forgotten	se parece a algo, luce familiar	Annabel Lee? Yeah, it rings a bell, but I can’t place it right now.
rock the boat — make the situation unstable	causar problemas, desestabilizar una situación	Peter always rocks the boat when we discuss company’s spending policy.
rub shoulders with — meet with	codearse	He doesn’t rub shoulders with the rich.
rub someone the wrong way — irritate, annoy, make angry	irritar, molestar a alguien	His remarks rub many coworkers the wrong way.
run into — meet by chance	encontrarse a alguien por casualidad	I ran into an old friend yesterday.
save face — try to change the negative impression produced	rescatar la reputación	He said a stupid thing and tried to save face by saying he misunderstood me.
save one’s breath — stop useless talk	ahorrarse las palabras	There’s no use talking to him about his spending habits, so save your breath.
scratch the surface — study something superficially	no profundizar en el tema, estudiar de manera superficial	He examines all the facts closely, he doesn’t just scratch the surface.
see about — make arrangements for	ocuparse de	I have to see about our plane tickets.
see eye to eye — agree	compartir un mismo punto de vista con alguien	We don’t see eye to eye any longer.
serve someone right — get what someone deserves	recibir lo que uno se merece	It serves him right that he didn’t get this job, he despised all other candidates.
serve one’s purpose — be useful to someone for his purpose	servir al propósito de alguien, ser útil para el propósito de alguien	I doubt that hiring this man will serve your purpose.
show promise — be promising	mostrar esperanza	This young actor shows promise.
show up — appear	aparecer	I waited for hours but he didn’t show up.
size up — evaluate someone	evaluar	It took me 5 minutes to size up that man.
sleep on it — postpone a decision till next morning	posponer algo hasta la mañana siguiente	Don’t decide now, sleep on it.
a slip of the tongue — a mistake	error, equivocación, lapsus	It was just a slip of the tongue!
slip (from) one’s mind — forget	olvidar	It slipped my mind what she asked me.
smell a rat — suspect something	sospechar algo	I’m not sure what it is, but I smell a rat.
so far — up to now	hasta ahora	So far, I have read 3 books by King.
so much the better — it’s even better	aún mejor	If he can pay cash, so much the better.
spill the beans — tell a secret	soltar la sopa, decir un secreto	Who spilled the beans about our plan?
stand a chance — have a chance	tener una oportunidad	He doesn’t stand a chance of getting it.
stand out — be noticeable	destacarse	He stands out in any group of people.
stand to reason — be logical	ser lógico	It stands to reason that he apologized.
straight from the shoulder — speak frankly	sin rodeos, abiertamente	Don’t try to spare my feelings, give it to me straight from the shoulder.
take a dim view of something — disapprove of something	tener una opinión negativa acerca de algo	My sister takes a dim view of the way I raise my children.
take a break — stop for rest	tomar una pausa	Let’s take a break, I’m tired.
take advantage of — use for one’s own benefit, to profit from	aprovecharse de	We took advantage of the low prices and bought a computer and a monitor.
take after — be like one of the parents	parecerse a los padres	Tom takes after his father in character, and after his mother in appearance.
take a stand on something — make a firm opinion/decision on smth.	tomar una posición firme respecto a algo	People need to take a stand on the issue of nuclear weapons.
take care of — look after, protect, see that smth. is done properly	cuidar de	Can you take care of my dog while I’m away? Tom takes good care of his car.
take hold of something — take, hold	tomar, sujetar	Take hold of this rope and pull.
take into account — consider smth.	tomar en cuenta	You must take into account her old age.
take it easy — relax, be calm	no te preocupes	Take it easy, everything will be OK.
take (it) for granted — accept as given	dar por sentado	Mother’s love is always taken for granted by children.
take one’s breath away	dejarlo a uno sin aliento	That great view took my breath away.
take one’s time — do slowly	tomarte tu tiempo, hacer algo despacio, sin prisa	Don’t hurry. Take your time.
take one’s word for it — believe	creer en la palabra de alguien, creerle a alguien	Take my word for it, he won’t go there.
take pains — try hard to do it well	esmerarse	He took pains to make his report perfect.
take part in smth. — participate in	tomar parte, participar	Mary is going to take part in the show.
take place — happen	tomar lugar, suceder	The accident took place on Oak Street.
take someone’s mind off things — distract from fixed ideas/thoughts	distraer a alguien de sus pensamientos	Go to a concert or a movie to take your mind off things.
take steps — take action /measures	tomar medidas, actuar	We need to take steps against it.
take the words right out of one’s mouth — say the same before somebody else says it	quitar las palabras de la boca (decir algo que quería decir otra persona)	I was about to say the same! You took the words right out of my mouth.
take time — take a long time	tomar tiempo	It takes time to get used to a new place.
take time off — be absent from work	tomar un día libre	He took time off to attend the wedding.
take turns — alternate doing something one after another	cambiar turnos, hacer algo por turnos	We went to Minsk by car. We didn’t get tired because we took turns driving
talk back — answer rudely	replicar, responder insolentemente	Don’t talk back to the teacher!
talk it over — discuss	discutir	I’ll talk it over with my family.
tell apart — see the difference	distinguir	Can you tell the twins apart?
That’s just the point. — That’s it.	Este es el punto.	That’s just the point! I hate this job!
the writing on the wall — a sign of future events (usually, trouble)	premonición (de algo malo)	The plane crashed. Tim said he saw the writing on the wall about this flight.
not think much of — think low	tener un concepto bajo de alguien	I don’t think much of her cooking.
think over — consider carefully	pensar en detalle, considerar	Think over your answer. Think it over carefully.
till one is blue in the face — try hard	esforzarse demasiado	I repeated it till I was blue in the face!
to make a long story short — in short	en pocas palabras	To make a long story short, we won.
to say the least — to make the minimum comment about smth.	para no decir más	The film was boring and long, to say the least.
try on — put on new clothes to test them for size or look	probarse (la ropa)	Try on this leather coat, it’s very good. She tried it on, but it didn’t fit her at all.
try one’s hand at something — try	probar algo, probar suerte con algo	I want to try my hand at painting.
turn on / off — switch on / off	encender/apagar	Turn on the radio. Turn off the water.
turn out to be — result/end this way	resultar	He turned out to be a very good actor.
turn over a new leaf — make a fresh start in life, work, etc.	empezar de nuevo, hacer borrón y cuenta nueva	He promises to turn over a new leaf and quit alcohol for good.
turn the tide — reverse the course of events	cambiar el curso de los eventos	The new evidence turned the tide, and the defendant was acquitted of charges.
twist one’s arm — make to agree	retorcer brazos, obligar a alguien a hacer algo en contra de su voluntad	They twisted his arm to sell the house.
under the weather — feel ill	resfriado	I’m a little under the weather today.
up-and-coming — showing promise of future success	prometedor	He is an up-and-coming young lawyer who might help you with your case.
up in arms — hostile to, in strong protest against something	protestar, estar en contra	The employees are up in arms about the new retirement rules.
up in the air — undecided	colgado en el aire, indefinido	My vacation plans are still up in the air.
up to par — equal in standard	adecuado y normal	His behavior isn’t up to par.
used to — did often in the past, but not now	solía (hacer algo)	I used to play the piano when I was in school (but I don’t play it now).
walk on air — be very happy	estar en las nubes, estar muy feliz	He got the job and is walking on air now.
waste one’s breath — speak uselessly, to no purpose	esforzarse en vano	Don’t waste your breath trying to make him do it, he won’t change his mind.
watch one’s step — be careful	tener cuidado, ser cauteloso	Watch your step!
watch out — look out, be careful	tener cuidado	Watch out for that car! Watch out!
wet blanket — a kill-joy, who spoils everybody’s fun	aguafiestas	Remember what a wet blanket he was last time? Please don’t invite him again.
What’s the matter? — What is it?	¿Qué pasa?	What’s the matter? What happened?
which way the wind blows — what the real situation is	cuál es la situación real (en qué dirección sopla el viento)	He knows which way the wind blows and always acts accordingly.
white lie — unimportant lie	mentira piadosa	A white lie is told to spare your feelings.
word for word — in the same words	literalmente	Tell me word for word what he said.
would rather — prefer	preferir	I’d rather stay at home today.