A word about horses...

Here is one that you are almost certain to hear where kids are present:

"...horse without an owner..."

Example usage:

"...[s]he behaves like a horse without an owner..."

animalsake.com

The original saying in Spanish, as illustrated in the example usage:

"...ese niño parece macho sin dueño..."

That's right, the idiom basically equates a person's behavior to that of a mustang. This idiom is likely rooted in the agrarian aspects of many Latin American cultures, where there would be a high probability one would encounter a mustang that is difficult to tame.

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Crazy Goats

Let's think about nature for a minute and then process this one: "...she is acting crazier than a goat in springtime..." Example usage: Person: "That lady is acting like a fool. She is crazier than a goat in springtime." flickr.com/photos/alchemist_x As always, let us first examine the original Spanish version of the saying: "Mas loca que una cabra en primavera." This one doesn't require much explanation and transcends cultures quite easily. Spring, nature, connect the dots as to why an animal would be acting all crazy. Although, why a goat? Do goats act especially crazy in comparison to other animals? It seems that is the impression they have left upon many in El Salvador.

Welcome!

My family and I share a lot of laughs over the rather colorful idioms common in El Salvador. Even funnier are the results one gets when attempting to translate said idioms from their native Spanish over to English. Many simply cannot be properly translated, but given the humor to be had, attempts at doing so are worth sharing. So here it is, a blog dedicated to sharing all the hilarity that accompanies these saying, with some history sprinkled in between.

Poorly Translated Salvadoran Sayings

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