IdiomDaily Life
Spanish
Spanishsacar el ascua con mano ajena
Meaning: To get someone else to do one's dirty work or take the blame for one's own wrongdoing.
Literally: To draw the hot coal with another's hand
Example: “Sacó el ascua con mano ajena: hizo que el becario diera la mala noticia.” — He used the intern as a cat's paw and had him break the bad news.
English equivalent: To use someone as a cat's paw
Equivalents in other languages
English: use someone as a cat's paw
Origin: An ascua is a live ember, and pulling it out of the fire with someone else's hand lets the other person take the burn. The RAE dictionary lists sacar alguien el ascua con la mano del gato, o con mano ajena, the cat recalling La Fontaine's fable of the monkey who has a cat pull chestnuts from the fire.
More Spanish idioms
- 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.
- con lo puesto With nothing but the clothes on one's back; in a state of complete destitution.
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