cazar al vuelo
Meaning: To seize or take something quickly before someone else can.
Language: Spanish
Literally: to hunt in flight
Category: Animals
Origin: The phrase draws on the image of a hunter catching a bird mid-flight—capturing something that is moving fast and could easily escape.
More idioms — Animals
- tomar el toro por los cuernos — To face a difficult problem directly and courageously rather than avoiding it.
- lobo con piel de cordero — A person who appears harmless or trustworthy but is actually dangerous or deceitful.
- dar coces contra el aguijón — To resist or rebel futilely against something stronger or inevitable.
- sich die Hörner abstoßen — To shed youthful recklessness and settle into maturity.
- ein Esel schimpft den andern Langohr — A person criticizes another for the same fault they themselves possess.
- bei der Stange halten — to keep someone obedient, loyal, or in line through discipline or pressure.
More Spanish idioms
- vender la moto — To trick or deceive someone, often by persuading them to believe a false story.
- a vida o muerte — In a desperate, all-or-nothing struggle where the stakes are the highest possible.
- codo con codo — Standing shoulder to shoulder, side by side in close proximity.
- llevar la contraria — To argue against or contradict someone habitually.
- para andar por casa — Makeshift, temporary, or of poor quality; fit only for casual home use.
- salvar las apariencias — To maintain an outward show of respectability or normalcy despite underlying problems.
From our tongue twisters
- El cielo está enladrillado, ¿quién lo desenladrillará? — A brutal test of the rolled 'r' and 'l'.
- Como poco coco como, poco coco compro. — A bouncy 'co' drill — the word order and meaning flip with each repetition.
- Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico. ¿Con qué pico pica papas Pepe Pecas? — A bouncy 'p' cluster that accelerates with the question at the end.