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To have a bad temper

Tener malas pulgas

To go all out, pull out all the stops

Tirar la casa por la ventana

To tell someone to get lost

Mandar/Ir a freír espárragos

Just in case

Por si las moscas

To be worth it

Valer la pena

Better safe than sorry

Más vale prevenir que curar

When in Rome...

¡Donde fueres, haz lo que vieres!

To kill two birds with one stone

Matar dos pájaros de un tiro

To be out in the sticks

Irse al quinto pino

Expressions with

Expresiones con el mono

To be in your element

Sentirse como pez en el agua

To doze off

Quedarse frito

To be worn out

Estar hecho polvo

By rule of thumb

A ojo de buen cubero

For the sake of it

Por amor al arte

To knock on wood

Tocar madera

To be climbing the walls

Subirse por las paredes

When it rains, it pours

Perro flaco, todo son pulgas

Cool!

¡Qué guay!

Literally

Al pie de la letra

The central issue

Caballo de batalla

To not sleep a wink

Pasar la noche en blanco

Tirar la casa por la ventana

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The expresión tirar la casa por la ventana means to spend a lot of money on celebrating a special occasion, or, in other words, "to spare no expense." Two equivalent expressions in English are "to go all out" and "to pull out all the stops". The origin of this expression dates back to the 19th century when it was a tradition in Spain to literally throw out the window all the belongings of a house when someone won the National Lottery. The National Lottery started in Spain on September 30th, 1763, under the ruling of Carlos III. In 1812, the current structure of the lottery system was established by las Cortes de Cádiz.

No tienes que tirar la casa por la ventana para pasarlo bien.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a good time.

Hoy en día, para casarse, no hace falta tirar la casa por la ventana.
Nowadays, it is not necessary to go all out to get married.

Las encuestas muestran que, este año, los españoles, a pesar de la crisis económica, han tirado la casa por la ventana para celebrar la comida de Navidad.
Polls show that, this year, the Spaniards, despite the recession, have pulled out all the stops to celebrate Christmas dinner.

Los padres de Nuria tiraron la casa por la ventana para la boda de su hija.
Nuria's parents went all out for her daughter's wedding.

Este año el Ayuntamiento ha tirado la casa por la ventana para iluminar las calles del pueblo durante las fiestas de Navidad.
This year, the City Hall has spared no expense to lighten the town streets during Christmas Holidays.

En España, algunos clubes de fútbol tiran la casa por la ventana para fichar a un jugador estrella.
In Spain, some soccer clubs pull out all the stops to hire a star player.

Para el viaje de luna de miel, Antonio y Raquel tiraron la casa por la ventana. Una semana en París, una semana en Nueva York y dos semanas en las islas de la Polinesia… con alojamiento en hoteles de cinco estrellas.
For their honeymoon trip, Antonio and Raquel went all out. One week in Paris, one week in New York City, and two weeks in the Polinesian islands… staying at five-star hotels.

Mi vecino Andrés es un chico simpático, alegre, generoso y muy sociable. Aunque sólo gana mil euros al mes, cada fin de semana ¡tira la casa por la ventana! Dice que la vida son cuatro días y quiere disfrutarlos en compañía de sus amigos. Los fines de semana su casa está siempre llena de gente… hay música, buen ambiente, y comida y bebida para un ejército.
My neighbor Andrew is a nice guy, he's always happy, he's generous and very sociable. Even though he only earns a thousand euros a month, every weekend he goes all out! He says life is too short and he wants to enjoy it in company of his friends. On the weekends, his house is always full of people ... there is music, a good atmosphere, and food and drink to feed an entire army.

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