Spanishtener un rabo de paja
Meaning: To feel guilty or anxious about something, fearing exposure of a personal fault or secret.
Literally: To have a straw tail
Example: “Se puso nervioso al ver a la policía; tiene un rabo de paja.” — He got nervous when he saw the police; he has something to hide.
Origin: Descends from a fuller, older proverb: quien tiene rabo de paja, no se debe acercar al fuego — whoever has a tail made of straw shouldn't get close to the fire, since straw catches alight far more easily and dangerously than any other material a tail might be made of. A version of the saying is documented in Spain by around 1800, phrased as a warning that only someone without a hidden weakness could safely stay calm near danger. Rabo and cola have long been near-synonyms in Spanish for tail, with rabo the more colloquial, popular term and cola its more formal equivalent, and both versions of the saying survive today, describing someone whose own guilty conscience makes them anxious the moment a related topic comes dangerously close.
Equivalents in other languages
Italian: avere la coda di paglia Literally: To have a straw tail
Czech: Mít máslo na hlavě Literally: To have butter on your head
More Spanish idioms
- Hablar por los codos To talk nonstop.
- Costar un ojo de la cara To be outrageously expensive.
- No hay tu tía There's no way around it; nothing can be done.
- Estar de Rodríguez To be a husband left working in town while the family is on holiday.
- Quedarse de piedra To be stunned speechless.
- Ser uña y carne To be inseparable; the closest of friends.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Como poco coco como, poco coco compro. A bouncy 'co' drill — the word order and meaning flip with each repetition.
- Pepe Pecas pica papas con un pico. ¿Con qué pico pica papas Pepe Pecas? A bouncy 'p' cluster that accelerates with the question at the end.
- El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramón Ramírez se lo ha robado. A rolled-'r' workout — every word demands the vibrating trill.
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