EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

"OK, good night! I'm going to sle...eh ...bed" If you said GOING TO SLEEP you were right. The only problem with GOING TO SLEEP is that it is not the most common expression to express that idea. It is more likely to say GOING TO BED or BEDTIME than GOING TO SLEEP. Another problem with that expression is how well it translates into Spanish. That is not necessarily a problem unless it happens all the time. There are intrincacies that pertain only to English that Spanish lacks and vicecersa, and when you are aware of that your English sounds a lot better.

"Hey, are we friends already?" "Nope, still only ACQUAINTANCES" An ACQUAINTANCE is a person we know, someone we may say hello to, somebody who we are on friendly terms with. But that's it. A person may be your ACQUAINTANCE for years and never become your friend. It is the same in most Spanish-speaking countries where a friend is an Amigo and an ACQUAINTANCE is a CONOCIDO.  "An old ACQUAINTANCE" and "an ACQUAINTANCE of mine" are common expressions that go into Spanish as "Un viejo CONOCIDO" y un "CONOCIDO mío".

It's not an ad, just a COMBO. The common definition of this term tells us that it is a derivation of sorts of the word Combination. It is essentially a business term created to entice our secret desire to spend our money on things we don't need. In a combo, you get not just one item, but two or three and though you pay a little bit more this is less than if you had acquired each item separately. In other words, you pay more, but you also get more. Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it? Perhaps that is why COMBOS are so popular. There is not a word for COMBO in Spanish so we also say COMBO in Spanish. We may say COMBINACIÓN, but it is not necessarily the same. UNA OFERTA ESPECIAL is another option, but again it is not exactly the same thing. BTW, the word COMBO also means a small musical group. There is a famous Puerto Rican group called El Gran Combo that plays Caribbean music.

"Oooppss, sorry, that was me" VERRACO in English is BOAR, a wild pig. These animals tend to have a powerful smell, in particular, the males that have reached puberty. Therefore, this old expression refers precisely to people who have the unhealthy habit of not bathing regularly. Literally APESTAR A BERRACO is not TO STINK LIKE A BOAR, it is just STINK or variations that use such word such as: TO STINK TO HIGH HEAVEN (many others are unpublishable).  Another alternative is to say someone has a B.O. (BAD ODOR). A variation of the same expression is OLER A CHIVO (GOAT).

What's a SWANK? Well, I'm one. I'm Hillary Swank! SWANK is one of those English words that can be either an adjective, a noun or a verb. Luckily, the meaning remains the same. Something that is SWANK is usually ostentatious, flashy, a bit too elegant or proud, but it may also be just smart. When used as a verb this word means Show Off, so the idea is not that different, is it? FANFARRONEAR, when this word is a verb, and FANFARRÓN if it is a noun or an adjective are good translations in Spanish.  In Informal Guayaquilean Spanish we would say SACAR LAMPARA (v) or LAMPAROSO (n).

"Hmm, why do I have this nagging feeling that someone is watching me watching?" In Spanish, a MIRADOR is any place that allows a privileged view of the surroundings. In English, a MIRADOR is a VIEWPOINT or a LOOKOUT. Another possible translation is VANTAGE POINT, though in a tourist context this term is a bit less common.

The result of SHORTLISTING all the suitable candidates to become our  next president. A SHORTLIST is that precisely a: short list, one with the names of people who are participating in some sort of competition and have been deemed suitable. It can also been a verb, so you can say things such as "SHORLISTED candidates". In Spanish, we say SELECCION or SELECCIONAR, but it´s not necessarily the same. To say LISTACORTA or LISTACORTAR would not make much sense to us.