
No tener pelos en la lengua
Meaning: To speak very bluntly and honestly.
Literally: To have no hairs on the tongue
Example: “La doctora no tiene pelos en la lengua: me dijo que debía dejar de fumar ya.” — The doctor didn't mince her words: she told me to quit smoking immediately.
English equivalent: Not to mince one's words
Origin: The tongue has long stood as a symbol of cultivated, careful speech, and the image of hairs growing on it works as an imagined physical obstacle — something that would genuinely get in the way of speaking cleanly and freely. "Not having" that obstacle came to mean speaking without any hesitation or self-censorship, however blunt or uncomfortable the result. The exact date of the phrase's coinage isn't documented, though it's generally associated with the Spanish Golden Age of the 16th and 17th centuries, a period when Spanish idiom and proverb collections were being actively compiled and written down for the first time.
Equivalents in other languages
French: Appeler un chat un chat Literally: To call a cat a cat
Norwegian: Å snakke rett fra leveren Literally: To speak straight from the liver
Italian: Non avere peli sulla lingua Literally: To have no hairs on your tongue
Portuguese: nu e cru Literally: Naked and raw
Polish: bez owijania w bawełnę Literally: Without wrapping in cottonEnglish: call a spade a spade
French: Ne pas y aller par quatre chemins Literally: Not to go by four roads
French: Ne pas mâcher ses mots Literally: Not to chew one's wordsEnglish: not mince one's words
More Spanish idioms
- Ser pan comido To be extremely easy.
- Dar calabazas To reject someone romantically.
- Estar como una cabra To be completely crazy.
- Tirar la casa por la ventana To spare no expense; to go all out.
- Meter la pata To make a blunder or put your foot in it.
- Ponerse las botas To stuff yourself with food or to profit greatly.
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