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viva estampa

Meaning: An exact likeness; someone or something that looks exactly like another.

Language: Spanish

Literally: living picture

Category: The Absurd

Origin: The phrase pictures a person or thing as if they were a living, breathing reproduction of another — so perfect and vivid that they seem to be the original brought to life.

More idioms — The Absurd

  • éramos pocos y parió la abuela — as if that wasn't enough, things went from bad to worse.
  • no sé qué y no sé cuánto — An undefined or vague something; an indescribable quality or collection of things.
  • caer en gracia — To charm someone instantly or be liked right away.
  • 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.
  • nur Bahnhof verstehen — to understand nothing at all of what is being said.

More Spanish idioms

  • de un plumazo — suddenly or in a single swift action, as if accomplished with one stroke of a pen.
  • mal trago — a difficult or unpleasant experience; a bitter pill to swallow.
  • en dos patadas — very easily or effortlessly.
  • ni a tiros — absolutely not; under no circumstances.
  • a la buena de Dios — To proceed carelessly or without proper planning, leaving the outcome to chance or fate.
  • con pies de plomo — To proceed with extreme caution or wariness; to tread carefully in a delicate situation.

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