Lejos y Largo

These are two words that I got mixed up about and/or use incorrectly in the past but I finally have gotten them straightened out - I think.

Largo is especially tricky as it’s one of those false cognates that can trip you so easily in Spanish – the tendency is to access the English side of your brain when you see this word and think LARGE! – No so, it means long in Spanish – and here's what helps me know it a different way – I think of the Florida Keys, and the island called Key Largo (made more famous from the Bogart/Bacall film of the same name). Key comes from the Spanish cayo, meaning islet, and of course, largo, meaning long and Key Largo is the longest of the keys at 33 miles.

Largo is used thusly:
• ¿Cómo es de largo? - How long is it?
• Estarle largo a alguien - to be too long for.
• Él estuvo enfermo un largo tiempo - he was sick a long time.
• Media hora largo - a good half hour.
• Pasar de largo - to pass by

Lejos means far away or distant and is commonly used in these ways:
• A lo lejos - At a distance.
• ¿Está lejos? Is it Far?
• ¡Eso queda muy lojos - That's a long way away!
• ¡Eso queda ya lojos - That happened a long time ago!
• Vivo lejos del centro - I live far away from downtown.
• Lejos de mejorar - Far from getter better.

Expresiones con los Sentidos (Expressions with the Senses)

Echar un ojo: (to keep an eye on something/someone)
Vigilar: "Echa un ojo al niño, que está en el jardín sólo."
To keep watch of, to guard: "Keep an eye on the kid, he's alone in the garden."

Ser todo oídos:(to be all ears)
Estar dispuesto a escuchar a alguien: "Cuéntame lo que ha pasado. Soy todo oídos.
To be willing to listen to someone: "Tell me what happened, I'm all ears."

A vista de pájaro: (a bird's eye view)
Ver algo desde una perspectiva a?rea: "Tengo una foto de Salamanca a vista de pájaro."
See something from an aerial perspective: "I have a picture from a bird's eye view of Salamanca."

No tener tacto: (to be untactful, tactless)
No ser delicado a la hora de hablar: "Luis no tiene tacto. Le dijo a María que había engordado."
To be undelicate in speaking or dealing with others: "Luis has no tact. He told Maria she had gotten fat."

Echar un vistazo: (to take a look)
Mirar algo sin detenimiento: "Echa un vistazo al informe, a ver si te gusta."
Glance at something without looking at it carefully: "Take a quick look at this report to see if you like it."

No tener pelos en la lengua: Decir la verdad sin ser delicado: "María le dijo a Luis lo que pensaba. Ya sabes que no tiene pelos en la lengua."
To speak the truth without being delicate or without restriction. To be straight-forward: "Maria told Luis what she thought. You know she doesn't bite her tongue"

Courtesy of Don Quijote Spanish Lesson of the Week