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EXPRESIONES CON ALIMENTOS - Parte 1/2. Interesante artículo que presenta 16 expresiones idiomáticas basadas en palabras de alimentos (frutas y verduras). Para tu comodidad hemos intercalado vocabulario bilingüe a lo largo del texto.
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FOOD EXPRESSIONS - Part 1/2 |
AUDIO |
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Now, the VOA Special English
program "Words and their stories". A listener from Brazil, Elenir Scardueli,
sent us a list of popular expressions about food. So today we will talk about
expressions that use vegetables and fruits. |
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For example, a cucumber is a
long, green vegetable that people often eat in salads. You might say a person is
as
cool as a cucumber
if he never seems to worry about anything and stays calm in a
stressful situation. If you put a cucumber in a solution of vinegar and spices
for a long time, it becomes a pickle. But if you are
in a pickle,
you are in trouble or a difficult situation. |
as cool as a cucumber: tan fresco como una lechuga; in a pickle: en un lío, en apuros; |
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If two people are very similar, you might say they are like two peas in a pod. |
like two peas in a pod: como dos gotas de agua, idénticos, gemelos; |
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There are several expressions about beans. If someone is very energetic, you might say she is full of beans. If you say something does not amount to a hill of beans, you mean it is of little importance. I might say you don’t know beans about a subject if you do not know anything at all about it. But if you spill the beans, you tell something that was supposed to be a secret. |
full of beans: lleno de energía, lleno de vitalidad; does not amount a hill of beans: no tiene nada de valor (no vale más que una pila de porotos); you don't know beans: no sabes nada de nada; spill the beans: soltar la lengua, contar todo, revelar un secreto; |
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Potatoes are a popular food in
many areas. But something is considered
small potatoes if it
is not important. You probably would not want to hold a
hot potato in
your bare hands. This also means a problem or issue that no one wants to deal
with. Someone might call you a
couch potato if you
sit and watch television all day and get little or no physical exercise. |
small potatoes: cosa poco importante; hot potato: asunto candente, tema delicado; couch potato: teleadicto, persona muy sedentaria; |
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Like potatoes, turnips are root
vegetables that grow in the ground. Here is an old saying:
you cannot
squeeze blood out of a turnip. That means you cannot
get something from a person that he or she is not willing or able to give. |
you cannot squeeze blood out of a turnip: no puedes sacarle sangre a un nabo (dinero a quien no lo tiene); |
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Farmers have to separate the
valuable parts of their crops from the waste. So
separating the wheat from the chaff
means keeping what is valuable and rejecting what is worthless. |
separate the wheat from the chaff: separar el grano de la paja; |
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Students often have to take a
difficult test to gain entrance to a special school. So you could say the ones
who are chosen are the best ones, or
the
cream of the crop. |
the cream of the crop: la creme de la creme, la flor y nata, el mejor de todos; |
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There is an old saying that
forbidden fruit tastes the
sweetest. That means some people get pleasure from doing
something that they are not supposed to do. |
forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest: la fruta prohibida es siempre la más dulce; |
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Bananas are a popular fruit to eat. But if you go bananas, you are wild with excitement or worry. |
go bananas: estar chiflado, volverse loco, perder la chaveta; |
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Finally, let us talk about lemons. Lemons have a sour taste if you eat them plain. But lemons make a nice drink when you mix their juice with sugar and water. So here is an expression about lemons that we like: If life gives you lemons, make lemonade. This means you should always try to make the best of a bad situation. |
If life gives you lemons, make lemonade: Al mal tiempo, buena cara.(Si del cielo te caen limones, aprende a hacer limonada). |
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This program was written by Shelley Gollust. I'm Faith Lapidus. |
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