IdiomDaily Life
Spanish
Spanishvenir mal dadas
Meaning: For things to go wrong or turn out badly.
Literally: To come badly given
Example: “Si vienen mal dadas, siempre podemos vender la furgoneta.” — If things go pear-shaped, we can always sell the van.
English equivalent: To go pear-shaped
Equivalents in other languages
English: go pear-shaped
Finnish: Mennä metsään Literally: To go into the forest
Portuguese: Dar com os burros n'água Literally: To end up with the donkeys in the water
Origin: From card games: dar is to deal, and when the cards vienen mal dadas one is dealt a bad hand. The phrase means things going wrong, and is used above all in cuando vienen mal dadas, when times get hard.
More Spanish idioms
- estar entre dos aguas To be undecided or unable to choose between two options; to sit on the fence.
- 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.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- 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…
Keep exploring