SpanishBuscarle tres pies al gato
Meaning: To overcomplicate things; to look for trouble.
Literally: To look for three feet on the cat
Example: “El contrato es claro; no le busques tres pies al gato.” — The contract is clear; don't split hairs over it.
English equivalent: To split hairs
Origin: The older form was buscarle cinco pies al gato, looking for five feet on a cat, which has four; the joke reply was that the tail made five. By Cervantes's time it had become tres pies (three feet), and Don Quixote already has no ande buscando tres pies al gato. Either way, the phrase means looking for complications or faults that are not there, or overthinking something simple. The RAE dictionary accepts tres, o cinco, pies, and in Argentina one looks for la quinta pata (the fifth leg).
Equivalents in other languages
French: Couper les cheveux en quatre Literally: To cut hair in four- French: Chercher midi à quatorze heures Literally: To look for noon at two in the afternoon
Portuguese: Procurar pelo em ovo Literally: To look for hair on an egg
Turkish: Armudun sapı var, üzümün çöpü var Literally: The pear has a stalk, the grape has a seed
English: split hairs- French: Enculer les mouches Literally: To sodomize flies
More Spanish idioms
- Estar frito To be fed up or worn out.
- No dar pie con bola To get everything wrong; to do nothing right.
- Estar en Babia To be daydreaming and miles away.
- Tener la sartén por el mango To be the one in control.
- ojito derecho A person's favorite or most beloved person, especially a child.
- tener más conchas que un galápago To be extremely cunning or crafty; to have many tricks up one's sleeve.
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