
IdiomBody & Senses
Spanish
con el pie derecho
Meaning: To make a good start or beginning.
Literally: With the right foot
Example: “Empezó el curso con el pie derecho: aprobó todo en enero.” — She started the year off on the right foot, passing everything in January.
English equivalent: To get off on the right foot
Equivalents in other languages
English: get off on the right foot
Origin: Stepping off on the right foot has long been thought lucky, the left being the unlucky side in European tradition, as in Latin sinister. Starting something con el pie derecho is starting well, and its opposite is con el pie izquierdo; Spanish also says levantarse con el pie izquierdo for getting out of bed on the wrong side.
More Spanish idioms
- a uña de caballo To move or travel at great speed.
- írsele la onda (Latin American Spanish) To lose focus or to forget an important point.
- hambre canina Extreme, ravenous hunger.
- poner a los pies de los caballos To betray or abandon someone to harm or ridicule.
- no pegar ni con cola To be conspicuously out of place or unsuitable.
- tener su miga To have hidden depth or complexity; to be more complicated than it appears.
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