Following on from my post re a 'gota':

Quote:

wrote on Jun 11th, 2016 at 8:26pm: . It says 16 gotas so what is a gota  ? A gota is a drop, una gota. Examples, gotas de lluvia - rain drops, gotas para ojos - eye drops. There is also a saying when just a few drops of rain have fallen - 'Ni ha caido cuatro gotas' - barely 4 drops have fallen. Also another saying when you only want a small amount of wine is 'Dame una gota de vino' or alternatively, 'Un dedo de vino' - a finger (thickness) of wine.

Here are a few more gems..

As in English the Spanish have many sayings 'refranes', tongue twisters 'trabalenguas' (literally working tongues) and jokes 'chistes'.

In English a rude joke is referred to as a blue joke, curiously in Spanish it's a green joke - chiste verde.

There are many jokes that are plays on words with double meaning so literally translated mean nothing.

A favourite example of mine is:
Que hace un pato con una pata?

Literally translated (what everyone initially thinks at least, and why it is funny), What does a drake do with a duck?

In Spanish un pato is a male duck, una pata is a female duck. I hope you're following...

So, answers such as make duckings, eggs or other possibilities(!) etc... are typical.

The play on words is that a 'una pata' also refers to the foot of an animal - tell a Spanish dog 'Dame la pata' = 'Give me your paw'.

So the question is actually 'What does a drake with one foot do?'
The answer - he falls over.. Se cae.

Memorise it and you'll get your Spanish friends laughing.


Whilst talking of ducks a lovely expression for someone who is 'out of their depth' or 'hasn't got a clue what he/she is doing' is 'Esta mas perdido que un pato en un garaje' - Translated = He/she is more lost than a duck in a garage.