dar mala espina

Spanish

Etymology

Literally, “to give a bad thorn to (someone)”.

Verb

dar mala espina (first-person singular present doy mala espina, first-person singular preterite di mala espina, past participle dado mala espina)

1. to have a bad feeling about something; to give a bad feeling [(chiefly) with indirect object]

   Eso me da muy mala espina

   I have a very bad feeling about that.

2. to smell fishy (have suspicions about something) [(chiefly) with indirect object]

Further reading

• “darle a alguien mala espina algo”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010