Frases Idiomáticas
Frases Inglesas con su equivalencia en español
Behind every great man, there is a great woman
ENGLISH
 This has been adopted as a
feminist slogan. The origins
are uncertain, but it's
certainly much older than
the Women's Movement of
the 1960s/70s, which
spawned other such
slogans. (Phrases UK)
ESPAÑOL
Detrás de un
gran hombre hay
una gran mujer.
Love is blind
ENGLISH
This was coined by
Shakespeare and was quite
a favourite line of his. It
appears in several of his
plays, including Two
Gentlemen ofVerona, Henry
V and The Merchant OfVenice.
For example, this piece
from The Merchant OfVenice,
1596
(Phrases UK)
ESPAÑOL
El amor
es ciego.
To be, or not to be, that is the question
ENGLISH




Meaning
Is it better to live or to die?
Origin
To be or not to be is probably the
best-known line from all drama or
literature. Certainly, if anyone is
asked to quote a line of Shakespeare
this is the one that first comes to
mind for most people. It is, of
course, from Shakespeare's play
Hamlet, 1602 (Shakespeare's actual
title is - The tragedie of Hamlet, prince
of Denmarke):
ESPAÑOL
Ser o no ser, he
ahí la pregunta.
William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
English poet and playwright considered as the greatest writer in
English literature.
Two heads are better than one
ENGLISH
 Meaning
 Two people may be able to solve a





problem that an individual cannot.
Meaning
Two people may be able to solve a
problem that an individual cannot.
Origin
This proverb is first recorded in
John Heywood's A dialogue
conteinyng the nomber in effect of all
the prouerbes in the Englishe tongue,
1546:
Some heades haue taken two headis
better then one:
But ten heads without wit, I wene
as good none. (Phrases UK)
ESPAÑOL
Dos cabezas
piensan
mejor que
una.
Out of sight, out of mind
ENGLISH
 Meaning
 The idea that something is easily
forgotten or dismissed as unimportant
if it is not in our direct view.
 Origin
 The use of 'in mind' for 'remembered'
and 'out of mind' for 'forgotten' date
back to the at least the 13th century.
The earliest printed citation of a link
with memory and the sight of
something is in John
Heywood's Woorkes. A dialogue conteynyng
prouerbes and epigrammes, 1562, as
reprinted by the Spenser Society, 1867:
 "Out of sight out of minde.” (Phrases
UK)
ESPAÑOL
Ojos que no ven,
corazón que no
siente.
Beggars can’t be choosers
ENGLISH

Meaning

If you request something to be given you should not question what you
are given.

Origin

This proverbial phrase has much in common with 'don't look a gift horse
in the mouth', both in meaning and by virtue of having been first recorded
in print by John Heywood. Both phrases were coined well before any
form of organised state support for the poor and express the widely held
mediaeval opinion that if you asked for and received a gift you should be
grateful for it. The 'gift horse' proverb was recorded first, in Heywood's
1546 version of A dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the prouerbes
in the Englishe tongue.

'Beggars should not be choosers' didn't appear until the 1562 version
of 'Proverbs'.

Beggers should be no choosers, but yet they will:
Who can bryng a begger from choyse to begge still?

The proverb is more commonly expressed these days as 'beggars can't be
choosers'. This leads to an ambiguity in meaning between 'beggars are
unable to be choosers' and 'beggars ought not to be choosers'. Of course,
the latter is the original meaning.
SPANISH
Limosnero
y con
garrote.
John Heywood
English dramatist and collector of proverbs
(c. 1497 - c. 1580)
Blood is thicker than water
ENGLISH
 Meaning
 So it is, but this proverb hasn't to do




with measures of viscosity. The
expression, meaning that family
bonds are closer than those of
outsiders.
Origin
This is first cited in Sir Walters
Scott's work Guy Mannering; or the
astrologer, 1815:
"Weel, blude's thicker than water;
she's welcome to the cheeses and
the hams just the same."
Given Scott's facility for coining
new phrases it may well be that this
was his own work too. (Phrases UK)
ESPAÑOL
La sangre
es más
espesa que
el agua.
Sir Walter Scott
(1771-1832) Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet,
popular throughout much of the world during his time.
A picture is worth a thousand words
ENGLISH
 A picture is worth a thousand
words
 Meaning
ESPAÑOL
 A picture tells a story just as well as a
large amount of descriptive text.
 Origin
 This phrase emerged in the USA in the
early part of the 20th century. Its
introduction is widely attributed to
Frederick R. Barnard, who published a
piece commending the effectiveness of
graphics in advertising with the title
"One look is worth a thousand words", in
Printer's Ink, December 1921. Barnard
claimed the phrase's source to be
oriental by adding the text "so said a
famous Japanese philosopher, and he
was right". (Phrases UK)
Una imagen
vale más que
mil palabras.
Astrid Fonseca García
Information taken from
www.phrases.org.uk/meaning/proverbs