Spanish grammar
Idioms of trickery
Say that someone is trying to trick you, with five everyday idioms.
From the scene Dar gato por liebre (Passing off a cat as a hare)
In short
Trickery idioms: aquí hay gato encerrado, dar gato por liebre, vender humo, tomar el pelo.
Your turn
Which one goes with to con someone (cat for hare)?
Options: dar gato por liebre · aquí hay gato encerrado · vender humo
Show answer
to con someone (cat for hare) → dar gato por liebre
How it works
Dar gato por liebre (to pass off a cat as a hare) is to con someone with something worse than promised.
Your turn
Pick the word that fits the line.
Ese señor vende (blank). Mucha foto y poco edificio.
Options: humo · pelo · liebre
Show answer
Ese señor vende humo. Mucha foto y poco edificio.
That man sells empty promises. Lots of photos, not much building.
Good to know
Aquí hay gato encerrado (there is a cat locked in here) means something fishy is going on.
Your turn
Pick the word that fits the line.
¿Seis meses? Nos está tomando el (blank).
Options: pelo · humo · hueso
Show answer
¿Seis meses? Nos está tomando el pelo.
Six months? He's pulling our leg.
Good to know
Vender humo is selling empty promises, tomar el pelo is pulling someone's leg, and ¡a otro perro con ese hueso! means "pull the other one".
something fishy is going on aquí hay gato encerrado
Elena
Qué fotos tan bonitas... Aquí hay gato encerrado.
What lovely photos... Something fishy's going on here.
Your turn
What fills the gap?
Qué fotos tan bonitas... (blank).
Options: Vender humo · Aquí hay gato encerrado · Dar gato por liebre
Show answer
Elena
Qué fotos tan bonitas... Aquí hay gato encerrado.
What lovely photos... Something fishy's going on here.
to con someone (cat for hare) dar gato por liebre
Nuria
¡Nos quieren dar gato por liebre!
They're trying to con us!
Your turn
What fills the gap?
¡Nos quieren (blank)!
Options: aquí hay gato encerrado · vender humo · dar gato por liebre
Show answer
Nuria
¡Nos quieren dar gato por liebre!
They're trying to con us!
to sell empty promises vender humo
to pull someone's leg tomar el pelo
Your turn
What goes with tomar el pelo?
Options: something fishy is going on · to con someone (cat for hare) · to pull someone's leg
Show answer
tomar el pelo → to pull someone's leg
pull the other one! ¡a otro perro con ese hueso!
Practise it in the story
Meet this rule inside a short animated scene. Answer as it plays, then say the lines yourself.
Practise free in the appSee all forms
| something fishy is going on | aquí hay gato encerrado |
|---|---|
| to con someone (cat for hare) | dar gato por liebre |
| to sell empty promises | vender humo |
| to pull someone's leg | tomar el pelo |
| pull the other one! | ¡a otro perro con ese hueso! |
More lines from the story
- TomásEse señor vende humo. Mucha foto y poco edificio.That man sells empty promises. Lots of photos, not much building.
- Nuria¿Seis meses? Nos está tomando el pelo.Six months? He's pulling our leg.
- ElenaEse edificio no es el nuestro. Es uno de Barcelona.That building isn't ours. It's one in Barcelona.
- ElenaTranquilos. A mí nadie me da gato por liebre. Llevo setenta años comprando en el mercado.Relax. Nobody cons me. I've been shopping at the market for seventy years.