Balat-sibuyas
Meaning: Overly sensitive and easily hurt.
Language: Filipino
Literally: Onion-skinned
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Skin as thin as an onion's papery layer pictures a person quick to take offense at the smallest thing.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Kacang lupakan kulit — To forget your roots and origins.
- Chovya chovya humaliza buyu la asali — Small indulgences add up to a big loss.
- Mgaagaa na upwa hali wali mkavu — Effort and initiative are always rewarded.
- Être soupe au lait — To be quick-tempered and flare up easily.
- Avoir la pêche — To be full of energy and on top form.
- Faire chou blanc — To draw a complete blank; to fail.
More Filipino idioms
- Makati ang paa — Restless and always wanting to go out.
- Nagbibilang ng poste — Jobless and idle, with nothing to do.
- Itaga mo sa bato — You can count on it absolutely.
- Namumuti ang mata — To wait in vain for a very long time.
- Hulog ng langit — A godsend; a great blessing.
From our tongue twisters
- El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado. — A rolled-'r' workout — every word demands the vibrating trill.
- Erre con erre cigarro, erre con erre barril; rápido ruedan los carros sobre los rieles del ferrocarril. — The definitive Spanish rr drill — unrelenting double-r from start to finish.
- Parangaricutirimícuaro — Not a sentence but a single word — a legendary 22-letter pronunciation challenge from a r…