Spanisharmar la de san Quintín
Meaning: to start a violent fight or brawl; to cause a huge commotion.
Literally: To arm the one of Saint Quintín
Example: “Los vecinos armaron la de san Quintín por el ruido del sábado.” — The neighbors raised Cain about Saturday's noise.
English equivalent: To raise Cain
Equivalents in other languages
Italian: Fare il diavolo a quattro Literally: To make the devil times four
Hindi: आसमान सिर पर उठाना (aasmaan sir par uthaana) Literally: To lift the sky onto your head
English: raise hell- English: raise Cain
French: Faire du ramdam Literally: To make ramadan
Origin: From the Battle of Saint-Quentin, fought on August 10, 1557, Saint Lawrence's day, in which the army of Philip II crushed a French relief force in northern France with heavy losses. Philip built El Escorial, dedicated to Saint Lawrence, partly to commemorate it. The battle's fame made its name a byword for a huge row: the magazine Blanco y Negro noted in 1898 that it had already become a popular idiom. How exactly it passed from history into everyday speech is not documented.
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- tira y afloja a back-and-forth negotiation or struggle where each side gives and takes.
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