hacer antesala
Meaning: To wait in an outer room or lobby, often in a position of subordination or anticipation.
Language: Spanish
Literally: to make antechamber
Category: Daily Life
Origin: A literal description of waiting in the antechamber before being admitted to see someone important. The figurative sense extends to any prolonged waiting or expectation.
More idioms — Daily Life
- lío de faldas — A romantic or sexual entanglement with a woman; an affair.
- sacar el ascua con mano ajena — To get someone else to do one's dirty work or take the blame for one's own wrongdoing.
- contante y sonante — Money in ready cash; actual payment rather than promises or credit.
- de Pascuas a Ramos — Once in a blue moon; extremely rarely or at great intervals.
- Dampf ablassen — To release pent-up emotion or frustration.
- aus dem Off — to speak or act without drawing attention to oneself, anonymously or from the background.
More Spanish idioms
- estar entre dos aguas — To be undecided or unable to choose between two options; to sit on the fence.
- arrimar el ascua a su sardina — To arrange matters selfishly in one's own favor; to look out for oneself at others' expen…
- 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.
- no ganar para sustos — To be plagued by constant troubles and misfortunes; to suffer setback after setback.
- perder la chaveta — To go crazy; to lose one's grip on sanity or self-control.
From our tongue twisters
- 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.
- 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.