Body idioms II

We’re back with the second part of body idioms. This post will be totally dedicated to la cabeza (the head). Check it out!

1. ser la cabeza pensante – to be the brains. (Es la cabeza pensante de la banda. – He’s the brains of the band.)
2. tener la cabeza dura – to be stubborn, obstinate (Vaya cabeza dura que tiene ese hombre. – That man’s so stubborn.)
3. cabeza de turco – scapegoat (Buscaron un cabeza de turco para evitar que el escándalo afectara a todo el partido. – They looked for a scapegoat to avoid the whole party being affected by the scandal.)
4. en cabeza / a la cabeza – in the first place. (Nuestro equipo va en cabeza. – Our team is in first place.)
5. agachar / bajar / doblar la cabeza – 1. to lower one’s head, in sign of respect (Dobla la cabeza ante el rey. – Lower your head before the King.) 2. to lower one’s head, due to shame (Cuando descubrieron sus mentiras, bajó la cabeza. – When his lies were discovered, he lowered his head.)
6. apostar / jugarse la cabeza – used to indicate that one is certain about a particular outcome. (Me apuesto la cabeza que se marcha del bar sin pagar. – I bet my head he’s going to leave the bar without paying.)
7. calentar la cabeza – to worry about something. (Ya se arreglará, no te calientes más la cabeza. – It will be be all right, don’t worry about it.)
8. darse con la cabeza en la pared – to kick oneself, literally to bang one’s head against the wall. (Por haber perdido esa oportunidad, ahora se da con la cabeza en la pared. – He’s kicking himself for losing that opportunity.)
9. de cabeza – 1. to be worried about something (Con la reforma de la casa andamos de cabeza. – We’ve been worried because of the remodeling of the house.) 2. headfirst, completely (Su mujer se metió de cabeza en el mundo de los negocios. – His wife got herself completely into the business world.)
10. escarmentar en cabeza ajena – to learn from somebody else’s mistakes (Aunque se lo advertí, nadie escarmienta en cabeza ajena. – Although I warned them, nobody learns from somebody else’s mistakes.)
11. írsele la cabeza – to feel dizzy (Mi abuela no puede bajar las escaleras mecánicas porque se le va la cabeza. – My grandma can’t climb down escalators because she gets dizzy.)
12. meter la cabeza – to get yourself hired (Metió la cabeza en el banco y ahora es director de la sucursal. – He managed to be hired in the bank and now he’s the branch manager.)
13. rodar cabezas – used to indicate that someone is going to be fired (En este departamento van a rodar cabezas. – People are going to get fired in this department.)
14. sentar la cabeza – to settle down (Cuando era joven me gustaba ir de juerga, pero después de casarme, senté la cabeza. – When I was young, I liked to party but after I got married I settled down.)
15. subírsele a la cabeza – 1. (of an alcoholic drink) to take effect (No bebas vino que se te sube a la cabeza. – Don’t drink wine, because it’s going right up your head.) 2. to become vain or snobbish (El dinero se le ha subido a la cabeza. – Money has gone up to his head.)