/maɾeˈaɾ la peɾˈðiθ/ lit. ‘to make the partridge dizzy’
Spanish idiom, colloquial. To keep putting something off instead of dealing with it.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Marear la perdiz
?
Colloquial and a little impatient, used about someone who keeps stalling instead of getting on with something. It’s most often a complaint or an order: “deja de marear la perdiz” (“stop stalling”). It can also mean wasting time talking round a point instead of saying it.
Also said no marees la perdiz, estar mareando la perdiz
Marear la perdiz
in real sentences
-
Yo a los broncas como tú los despacho rapidito, así que ve directo al grano y no marees más la perdiz.
I deal with troublemakers like you pretty quickly, so get straight to the point and stop beating around the bush.
Tatoeba, sentence by Seael, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Marear la perdiz
come from?
Both English and Spanish Wiktionary trace it to partridge hunting: beaters would flush the birds again and again before the shooting started, which delayed the hunt. That’s the explanation the dictionaries give, but neither offers a date or a written source for it.
Mistakes learners make with Marear la perdiz
Using it for a one-off delay. It describes a pattern of dragging things out on purpose, so “el tren marea la perdiz” for a late train makes no sense.
Other Spanish idioms like Marear la perdiz
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