poner a alguien a los pies de los caballos
/poneɾ a alɡjen a los pjes de los kabaʝos/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'throw under the bus' can be translated as poner a alguien a los pies de los caballos. If unsure, use poner a alguien a los pies de los caballos. Wiktionary also lists echar la pelota and pasar la pelota.
Meaning: betray (verb)
Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA |
|---|---|
| poner a alguien a los pies de los caballos | /poneɾ a alɡjen a los pjes de los kabaʝos/ (from spelling rules) |
| echar la pelota | /et͡ʃaɾ la pelota/ (from spelling rules) |
| pasar la pelota | /pasaɾ la pelota/ (from spelling rules) |
| tirar dedo | /tiɾaɾ dedo/ (from spelling rules) |
| achacar | /at͡ʃaˈkaɾ/ |
| echarle el perro muerto | /et͡ʃaɾle el pero mweɾto/ (from spelling rules) |
The phrase is used to express the act of betraying someone. Depending on the context, you might be discrediting someone by exposing their faults publicly, which is expressed formally as Desprestigiar a alguien or you might be leaving someone to face criticism alone, which is an informal way to say Echar a alguien a los leones. Additionally, the idiom tirar dedo is a direct way to say 'to point the finger' or to accuse someone of something.
Did you know?
- The idiom echarle el perro muerto involves 'throwing the dead dog' at someone to represent betrayal or shifting blame.
- You can use the verb achacar to describe the act of assigning blame or faults to someone, similar to 'throwing them under the bus'.
- The verb echar, used in phrases like echar la pelota, is a linguistic cousin to the English words 'jet' and 'jut'.
Examples in context
- La empresa sacrifica a sus empleados para proteger su imagen.The company throws its employees under the bus to protect its image.
- No te fíes de Juan, es capaz de dejarte en la estacada en cualquier momento.Don't trust Juan, he's capable of leaving you stranded at any moment.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “throw under the bus” translations and entries achacar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries a, alguien, de, echar, la, los, pelota, poner, CC BY-SA 4.0.
