IdiomBody & Senses
Spanish
Spanishmal trago
Meaning: a difficult or unpleasant experience; a bitter pill to swallow.
Literally: Bad swallow
Example: “Contarle la verdad a su madre fue un mal trago.” — Telling his mother the truth was a bitter pill to swallow.
English equivalent: A bitter pill to swallow
Equivalents in other languages
Dutch: een bittere pil Literally: Bitter pill
English: bitter pill to swallow
French: Avaler des poires d'angoisse Literally: To swallow pears of anguish
Origin: A trago is a swallow or a drink, and a bad one goes down hard. Spanish uses pasar un mal trago for getting through an unpleasant experience, and Galdós has a character say in Fortunata y Jacinta (1887) that there is no avoiding algún mal trago. Spanish also says trago amargo (a bitter swallow).
More Spanish idioms
- ni a tiros absolutely not; under no circumstances.
- a la buena de Dios To proceed carelessly or without proper planning, leaving the outcome to chance or fate.
- cuéntame una de vaqueros (Venezuelan Spanish) A challenge to someone to stop lying or exaggerating; an equivalent…
- tomar el toro por los cuernos To face a difficult problem directly and courageously rather than avoiding it.
- cortar por lo sano To sever a problem decisively rather than manage it halfway, making a clean break or radi…
- caer en gracia To charm someone instantly or be liked right away.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
- Vaso Actually means 'a drinking glass'. A vase (for flowers) is un jarrón or florero.
- Embarazada Actually means 'pregnant'. For embarrassed, say avergonzado/a.
- Constipado Actually means 'having a head cold'. Estoy constipado = I have a cold.
Keep exploring