matar el gusanillo

Spanish

Etymology

Literally, “kill the [little] worm”.

Verb

matar el gusanillo (first-person singular present mato el gusanillo, first-person singular preterite maté el gusanillo, past participle matado el gusanillo)

1. (idiomatic) to keep hunger at bay, to keep someone going

Further reading

• “matar el gusanillo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10