una de cal y otra de arena

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌuna de ˌkal i ˌotɾa de aˈɾena/ [ˌu.na ð̞e ˌkal i ˌo.t̪ɾa ð̞e aˈɾe.na]
• Syllabification: u‧na de cal y o‧tra de a‧re‧na

Noun

una de cal y otra de arena f (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) an alternation of two opposite things, for example hot and cold, good cop bad cop, zigzag, up and down, happy one minute and sad the next

Further reading

• “una de cal y otra de arena”, 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