/kaˈeɾse reˈdondo/ lit. ‘to fall down round’
Spanish idiom, colloquial. To faint or pass out.
How do people use Caerse redondo
?
Colloquial, used for someone who faints or collapses on the spot and drops straight to the ground. “Redondo” agrees with the person: “se cayó redonda” for a woman, “se cayeron redondos” for a group. It’s also a common exaggeration, as in “casi me caigo redondo cuando vi el precio” (I nearly keeled over when I saw the price).
Also said caer redondo
Caerse redondo
in real sentences
-
Pero Dima no se pondría nunca esas gafas. De repente, su cuerpo perdió toda su energía y se cayó redondo al suelo.
But Dima would never wear the glasses. Suddenly, his body went limp and he collapsed to the floor.
Tatoeba, sentence by Shishir, translation by FeuDRenais2, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Caerse redondo
come from?
Spanish Wiktionary lists “caerse redondo” under “redondo” with the definition “to lose consciousness and fall to the ground”, and English Wiktionary lists “caer redondo” as a derived term of the same word. “Redondo” there seems to mean “completely, all in one go”, the same sense as “un no redondo” (a flat no), so the person goes down in one piece with nothing to break the fall. That reading is only an interpretation; no source explains the phrase or dates it.
Mistakes learners make with Caerse redondo
Forgetting the agreement and saying “ella se cayó redondo”. “Redondo” works like an adjective here, so it changes with the person: “ella se cayó redonda”.
Other Spanish idioms like Caerse redondo
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