In today’s post Spanish idioms: “Estar como una cabra” we will learn the meaning of this commonly used expression. Our Spanish school, El Rincón del Tándem, helps you to become fluent by enriching your conversation with typical expressions of colloquial language 😊
Last week we learnt the meaning of the Spanish idiom: “salvarse por los pelos”. Today we keep learning typical Spanish expressions that describes situations and facts of ordinary life.
There’s plenty of idioms and sayings that has to do with nature and animals in Spanish language. For instance, in the past, we talked about Spanish sayings with dogs.
Today we speak about craziness and goats…Do you know how the two are related?
The Spanish idiom “estar como una cabra” describes someone who is behaving strangely, as he is doing bizarre or out-of-the-ordinary things.
“Estar como una cabra” literally means “to be like a goat”. In English we would translate this expression as “being totally mad, being nuts”.
It is said that this expression comes from the behaviour that goat’s kids use to have when they are weaned. Unlike cows, sheeps and horses’s kids that use to stay quiet and closet to her mother after being weaned, goats’ kids usually run away wildly.
Besides, goats are also known to behave differently from other farm animals and do odd and things, like climbing high rocks and low trees and eating branches.
Lastly, goats are said to be quick-tempered. They can change behaviour unexpectedly and start fighting all of a sudden.
So, let’s see a couple of situations where people “behave like a goat” 😊
Marcos no suele tomar alcohol. Ayer tomó una cerveza y después hacía cosas raras. En fin, estaba como una cabra = Marcos doesn’t usually drink alcohol. Yesterday he had a beer and then he was doing strange things. Anyway, he was totally nuts
Esta tarde Lucía se fue la piscina, luego a clase de pilates y por último, a jugar voleibol. ¡Está como una cabra! = This afternoon Lucia went to the swimming pool, then to pilates class and finally, to play volleyball. She is completely mad!
Carlos está como una cabra…en diciembre se bañó en un río. ¡El agua estaba helada! = Carlos is out of his mind…in December he went swimming in a river. ¡The water was freezing cold!
And you? When was last time you behaved oddly? 😊
We hope this short article on Spanish idioms: “estar como una cabra” will help you use correctly this funny expression.
If you are planning to learn Spanish in Valencia, El Rincón del Tándem is happy to provide you with a friendly and cosy space where you can study Spanish by having fun.
If you want to attend lessons every day, Intensive Spanish course and Standard Spanish course might suit you well.
¡Hasta la próxima!
