ser culo de mal asiento

Meaning: To be restless and unable to stay still.

Literally: To be bottom of bad seat

Example: “Este niño es culo de mal asiento: no aguanta dos minutos sentado.” — This boy has ants in his pants; he can't sit still for two minutes.

English equivalent: Ants in one's pants

Equivalents in other languages

German: Hummeln im Hintern haben Literally: To have bumblebees in your behind
French: Être piqué de la tarentule Literally: To be bitten by the tarantula
English: ants in one's pants

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Origin: Literally "a bottom with a bad seat": someone whose backside never settles comfortably, and who so keeps getting up, changing jobs or moving house. The RAE dictionary lists it for a restless person who cannot stay put. It is colloquial and mildly crude, and has no particular story behind it.

More Spanish idioms

hambre canina Extreme, ravenous hunger.
poner a los pies de los caballos To betray or abandon someone to harm or ridicule.
no pegar ni con cola To be conspicuously out of place or unsuitable.
tener su miga To have hidden depth or complexity; to be more complicated than it appears.
con el rabo entre las piernas In a state of shame, defeat, or humiliation; cowed and demoralized.
quedarle cuerda To still have plenty of energy, vitality, or usefulness left.

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Equivalents in other languages

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