Cortar el rollo
backTo cut the roll.
to kill the vibe; **to kill the vibe**; **to spoil the mood**; **to ruin the atmosphere**; **to put someone off**; **to kill the fun**; **to interrupt the flow**; **to be a buzzkill**
Cortar el rollo means to spoil the mood, to kill the vibe, to interrupt the flow, or to put an end to someone's enjoyment.
No cortes el rollo, que nos lo estábamos pasando muy bien.
Don't kill the vibe; we were having a great time.
La llamada de teléfono nos cortó el rollo.
The phone call ruined the mood.
No quería cortarte el rollo, pero tenemos que irnos.
I didn't mean to put you off, but we have to leave.
Ese comentario me cortó el rollo completamente.
That comment completely killed the vibe for me.
La llegada de los padres les cortó el rollo.
Their parents' arrival killed the mood.
It can also mean to interrupt or discourage someone, especially when they are enjoying themselves or are involved in an activity.
The expression is commonly used in two constructions:
Cortar el rollo.
→ To spoil the mood / kill the vibe.
Cortarle el rollo a alguien.
→ To put someone off / spoil someone's enjoyment.
- someone interrupts an enjoyable situation
- something suddenly ruins the atmosphere
- someone says or does something that makes people uncomfortable
- an interruption breaks the momentum of an activity
- someone discourages another person from continuing
- something makes a situation less enjoyable
The expression is based on the colloquial Spanish word rollo, which can refer to a particular mood, atmosphere, situation or way of things going.
The metaphor of cutting something suggests interrupting or stopping a continuous flow.
Thus, cortar el rollo came to mean interrupting the atmosphere or momentum of a situation, especially an enjoyable one.
The expression is especially common among young people and in informal conversation.
It can refer to a social atmosphere:
No cortes el rollo.
→ Don't kill the vibe.
It can also refer to a person's enthusiasm:
Me has cortado el rollo.
→ You've put me off / You've killed my enthusiasm.
And it can describe an external event:
La lluvia nos cortó el rollo.
→ The rain ruined the mood / The rain put a damper on things.
The Spanish word rollo has an unusually wide range of colloquial meanings:
- un rollo → something boring or tedious.
- tener buen rollo → to have a good vibe / get along well.
- haber mal rollo → there to be bad vibes.
- estar de buen rollo → to be in a good mood / be friendly.
- cortar el rollo → to kill the vibe.
- meterse en un rollo → to get involved in a situation or complication.
This makes rollo a particularly useful word for understanding informal contemporary Spanish.
Do not translate:
No cortes el rollo.
as:
Don't cut the roll.
Natural translations include:
Don't kill the vibe.
Don't spoil the mood.
Don't ruin the fun.
Don't put a damper on things.
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