tener un rabo de paja

Meaning: To feel guilty or anxious about something, fearing exposure of a personal fault or secret.

Language: Spanish

Literally: to have a straw tail

Category: Animals

Origin: Rural Spanish imagery: an animal with a straw tail would be nervous and jumpy, ready to run if discovered.

More idioms — Animals

essere un osso duro — Be a difficult, stubborn person who is challenging to deal with or influence.
медведь на ухо наступил — To lack musical ability or have poor sense of pitch and rhythm.
att vara rädd som en hare — To be extremely fearful and jumpy, ready to flee at the slightest danger.
let the cat out of the bag — to reveal a secret inadvertently.
go belly up — to fail completely; to go bankrupt.
bark up the wrong tree — to pursue a wrong course; to blame the wrong person.

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.

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