perder la chaveta
Meaning: To go crazy; to lose one's grip on sanity or self-control.
Language: Spanish
Literally: to lose the pin
Category: The Absurd
Origin: Origin uncertain; the phrase pictures a machine or mechanism rendered useless when its securing pin is lost, applying the metaphor to the mind.
More idioms — The Absurd
- nur Bahnhof verstehen — to understand nothing at all of what is being said.
- alles im grünen Bereich sein — Everything is functioning well or is satisfactory.
- um die Ecke denken — To think creatively or unconventionally, to solve problems by approaching them from unexp…
- was das Zeug hält — with maximum intensity or speed; to the absolute limit of one's capacity.
- die Faxen dicke haben — To be fed up; to have had enough of someone's nonsense or misbehavior.
- eine Schraube locker haben — To be slightly eccentric or mentally unbalanced.
More Spanish idioms
- de Pascuas a Ramos — Once in a blue moon; extremely rarely or at great intervals.
- con lo puesto — With nothing but the clothes on one's back; in a state of complete destitution.
- Buscar una aguja en un pajar — To search for something you have almost no chance of finding, because the thing is tiny a…
- Estar en la edad del pavo — To be at an awkward teenage phase.
- Tener mala leche — To be in a foul mood or have bad intentions.
- No tener pelos en la lengua — To speak very bluntly and honestly.
From our untranslatable words
- Puente — The day taken off to 'bridge' a midweek public holiday to the weekend, turning it into a…
- Vergüenza ajena — The squirming embarrassment felt on behalf of another person, who may be entirely untroub…
- Sobremesa — The unhurried conversation that lingers long after a meal, when no one wants to leave the…