What does “Estar como boca de lobo” mean?
It is a Spanish idiomatic expression that means “to be pitch black” or to be in trouble.
Imagine how dark the inside of a wolf’s mouth is. All jokes aside, this is a pretty dark concept. It reminds me of an Italian idiom about wolves. Instead of saying “good luck”, you say “In bocca al Lupo” in the mouth of the wolf. This comes from ancient Latin (tale of Romulus and Remus). There is probably a Latin connection in these two idiomatic expressions and some interesting research could be done.
Example of “Estar como boca de lobo” being used:
It can also be used to describe a dangerous place with the verb meterse
Quizás me pueda divertir en la boca del lobo después de todo.
Well, may be some fun to be had in the lion’s den after all.
Based on our research this expression is not used very much anymore, however everyone knows it and it should be something that you understand if it is used in conversation.
For more Spanish Idioms check out our Spanish Language Blog Posts
What is an idiomatic expression anyway?
It is a phrase that, when translated directly, doesn’t make sense in another language. For example “this project is coming down to the wire.” Translated into another language directly that would make no sense. This example comes from TV shows where people have a timer running and they have to cut the correct wire on the bomb. These expressions take on a new meaning for us. “down to the wire” means “last minute.” By contrast, “last minute” is not an idiomatic expression – if you translate it directly into a foreign language it will make perfect sense,”down to the wire” will not. Every language has idiomatic expressions, and some may argue that these are the expressions that REALLY make the language unique. Just memorizing vocabulary will not help you to learn these, you need to learn all of the idiomatic expressions.
