marear la perdiz

Spanish

Etymology

Literally, “to daze the partridge”. It comes from bird hunting. Before launching the birds to fly to hunt them, the hunters set on them a little, with dogs or beaters so that they get scared and fly away, but it is done repeatedly, thus delaying the beginning of the hunt.

Verb

marear la perdiz (first-person singular present mareo la perdiz, first-person singular preterite mareé la perdiz, past participle mareado la perdiz)

1. (idiomatic) to mess around, to dilly-dally

See also

• pelar la pava

Further reading

• “marear alguien la perdiz”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014