If you listen to the 'News in slow Spanish' podcasts, you'll be familiar with the phrase 'Expresiones, la salsa del idioma', and it's true, Spanish has its fair share of colourful sayings.
I decided to do a little research, based on a few sayings I'd come across, referring to El Tigre's domestic cousin, the Cat, and found there were a good many more than I expected.
Here's a selection – there are more but, to be honest I didn't understand some of them! ;¬)
Aquí hay Gato encerrado
There's something fishy going on here. (There's a cat locked up here)
El hijo de la gata, ratones mata
Like father (mother), like son. (The son of the cat kills mice)
De noche, todos los gatos son pardos
All cats are grey in the dark (at night)
Cuando el gato sale, los ratones bailan
While the cat's away, the mice will play (dance)
Hasta los gatos quieren zapatos
Everybody's after something (even the cats want shoes)
La curiosidad mató al gato
Curiosity killed the cat
A gato satisfecho no le preocupa ratón
A satisifed cat doen't care about a mouse.(Interpret that however you like ;¬)
Con ladrones y gatos pocos tratos
Be careful who you do business with (certainly not thieves or cats!)
Al ratón que no sabe más que un agujero, el gato lo pilla presto.
Always have a plan 'B' (the cat will soon catch the mouse that only knows one hole)
Cara de beato, y uñas de gato
Every rose has its (her) thorn (a beautiful face but claws like a cat)
Casose con gata por amor a la plata, gastose la plata, quedose la gata
Marry in haste, repent at leisure (marry the cat, for love on a plate, enjoy the meal, but the cat remains)
Como me tratan de gato salvage, me pongo a robar gallinas
Treat me like a human being, and I'll act like one (treat me like a wild cat, and I'll steal your chickens)
Dar gato por lievre
To pull a fast one, con someone (to serve cat as hare)
Donde hay chorizos colgando, no faltan gatos husmeando.
The nearest I could get to this is the rather unsavoury 'they're like flies around sh*t'
(where sausages hang, cats will come sniffing)
El gato gruñón no caza raton
Softly, softly, catchee monkey (the grunting cat can't hunt mice)
Como los gatos siempre cae parado
He always lands on his feet (like a cat, he falls standing)
Hermanos (or reyes) y gatos, todos son ingratos
Brothers (or kings) and cats are all ungrateful
Más come en una semana un gato que cien ratones en todo un año
The cure is worse than the disease ( a cat eats more in a week than a hundred mice in a year)
No importa el color del gato, lo importante es que se coma a los ratones
Any port in a storm (it doesn't matter what colour the cat is, so long as it eats mice)
Pajaro que dice pio pio se le come el gato
If you stick your head up, someone will blow it off. Know when to keep quiet (the cat will eat the bird that tweets) Hmm, better lay off Twitter for a while.
Si no es gato, es gata, y si no, gatito.
Whichever way you look at it, it's still a cat!!
I've included English sayings with the same sentiment, where possible, otherwise the translation shows the meaning pretty well.
If you want to wallow in even more Spanish colloquialisms, on all types of subject, head on over to http://www.languagerealm.com/spanish/spanishproverbs.php and have a party.
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