Hair today!

Wednesday, 18 January 2012 13:45

Written by Editor

Some of you may already know that hair is pelo. El tiene pelo negro -  He has black hair. Ella tiene pelo rubio - she has blonde hair.  Es pelirrojo -  He's a red-head.  Es pelirroja - she's a red-head.

However, as well as the everyday use there are lots of expressions and idioms with pelo,
some of which we will have a look at today so we can sprinkle them in our conversation
and sound knowledgeable. (Which of course we are!)

Cortarse el pelo means to have one's hair cut. 
Voy a cortarme el pelo mañana -  I'm going to have my hair cut tomorrow.
Tienes que cortarte el pelo - You have to have your hair cut.

If you manage to do something by the skin of your teeth,
you do it por los pelos in Spanish.
Pasó el examen por los pelos -  He passed the exam by the skin of his teeth.
Se lo escapó por los pelos -  He missed it by the skin of his teeth.

If you get a fright you have los pelos de punto - your hair standing on end.
Cuando vi la foto se me pusieron los pelos de punto -  when I saw the
photo, my hair stood on end.

If you pull someone's leg you use the expression  tomar el pelo.
Me estás tomando el pelo - You're pulling my leg.

If you want to say that someone is clever you can say No tiene pelo de tonto.

And if you are talking about someone who is outspoken or doesn't mince
their words you can say  No tiene pelos en la lengua (literally, he doesn't
have hairs on his tongue).

And a macho man is sometimes described as un hombre de pelo en pecho
(a man with hair on his chest).

Ya está -  That's it   
Hasta el próximo -   Until next time.
Valerie

Valerie runs the Centro Idiomas Language School in Coin.
Her books, “The First Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish” , “The Second Twelve Shortcuts to Spanish”  (€5 each) and  “The Verb Book” (€7) are available from The News office in Coin, Woody’s Cards and Books in Los Boliches, David’s Books in Los Boliches or by email from This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Valerie's books can now be bought from her website - www.cslspain.com or call 952 450 747.