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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to SpanishPod101.com. I'm Eric.
Laura: And I'm Laura!
Eric: This is Must-Know Mexican Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 24. In this lesson you'll learn Idiomatic Expressions with Unusual Literal Translations.
Eric: By mastering how to use these expressions, you will impress your friends.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
Eric: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are:
Laura: haber gato encerrado
Laura: meter la pata
Laura: costar un ojo de la cara
Laura: ser pan comido
Eric: Laura, what's our first expression?
Laura: haber gato encerrado
Eric: literally meaning "there's a locked up cat." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to be hiding something, there's something fishy."
Laura: [SLOW] haber gato encerrado [NORMAL] haber gato encerrado
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Laura: haber gato encerrado
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to say that the situation seems fishy or suspicious and you believe there is more to it than it looks.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Laura: [NORMAL] A mi me parece que hay gato encerrado. [SLOW] A mi me parece que hay gato encerrado.
Eric: "To me it seems that there is something fishy going on."
Laura: [NORMAL] A mi me parece que hay gato encerrado.
Eric: Okay, what's the next expression?
Laura: meter la pata
Eric: literally meaning "insert the paw." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to screw up, make a mistake."
Laura: [SLOW] meter la pata [NORMAL] meter la pata
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Laura: meter la pata
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when a situation gets worse because of someone's mistake or action.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Laura: [NORMAL] Metió la pata con su comentario. [SLOW] Metió la pata con su comentario.
Eric: "She screwed up with her commentary."
Laura: [NORMAL] Metió la pata con su comentario.
Eric: Okay, what's our next expression?
Laura: costar un ojo de la cara
Eric: literally meaning "cost an eye of the face." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "cost a pretty penny, to cost a lot."
Laura: [SLOW] costar un ojo de la cara [NORMAL] costar un ojo de la cara
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Laura: costar un ojo de la cara
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to express that something cost a lot of money and that it most likely affected you financially.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Laura: [NORMAL] Ese celular me va a costar un ojo de la cara. [SLOW] Ese celular me va a costar un ojo de la cara.
Eric: "That cell phone is going to cost me a pretty penny."
Laura: [NORMAL] Ese celular me va a costar un ojo de la cara.
Eric: Okay, what's the last expression?
Laura: ser pan comido
Eric: literally meaning "to be eaten bread." But when it's used as a slang expression it means "to be easy, piece of cake ."
Laura: [SLOW] ser pan comido [NORMAL] ser pan comido
Eric: Listeners, please repeat.
Laura: ser pan comido
[pause - 5 sec.]
Eric: Use this slang expression when you want to express that a task is very easy to do.
Eric : Now let's hear an example sentence.
Laura: [NORMAL] El examen fue pan comido. [SLOW] El examen fue pan comido.
Eric: "The test was a piece of cake."
Laura: [NORMAL] El examen fue pan comido.
QUIZ
Eric: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I will describe four situations, and you will choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
Eric: Someone just mentioned next weekend’s event in front of a person who is not invited.
Laura: meter la pata
Eric: "to screw up, make a mistake"
Eric: During the meeting the directors looked worried and secretive.
Laura: haber gato encerrado
Eric: "to be hiding something, there's something fishy"
Eric: The new assignment seems pretty easy.
Laura: ser pan comido
Eric: "to be easy, piece of cake "
Eric: Buying a house these days is very expensive. You can say it will..
Laura: costar un ojo de la cara
Eric: "cost a pretty penny, to cost a lot"

Outro
Eric: There you have it; you have mastered four Mexican Spanish Slang Expressions! We have more vocab lists available at SpanishPod101.com so be sure to check them out. Thanks everyone, and see you next time!
Laura: Hasta pronto.

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