/peɾˌdeɾ los esˈtɾibos/ lit. ‘lose your stirrups’
Spanish idiom, everyday. To suddenly lose your temper.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Spanish speaker.
How do people use Perder los estribos
?
Everyday Spanish, fine in conversation, news reports and at work. Perder changes its stem (pierdo, pierdes, pierde), so watch the forms: “no pierdas los estribos”, “Tom perdió los estribos”. You can also make someone else lose them: “me hace perder los estribos”.
Also said perder los estribos de la paciencia
Perder los estribos
in real sentences
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No pierdas los estribos.
Don’t lose your temper.
Tatoeba, sentence by marcelostockle, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Mary pierde los estribos fácilmente.
Mary loses her temper easily.
Tatoeba, sentence by nancy, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Perder los estribos
come from?
A rider who loses the stirrups loses balance and control of the horse, which is the picture behind losing your temper. English Wiktionary quotes the figurative use from José de Espronceda’s novel Sancho Saldaña (1834) and lists an older, longer form, “perder los estribos de la paciencia” (to lose the stirrups of patience). The literal sense still shows up in old texts on Wikisource, where knights are knocked out of their stirrups. Portuguese and Catalan have the same image (perder as estribeiras, perdre els estreps).
Mistakes learners make with Perder los estribos
Using the singular. It’s always “los estribos”, both of them, even though one lost stirrup would be enough to fall off.
Other Spanish idioms like Perder los estribos
Spot a mistake in Perder los estribos
?
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