Estar de vuelta de todo

to have seen it all; **to have seen it all**; **to have been around**; **to be worldly-wise**; **to be seasoned**; **to be worldly**; **to be jaded**; **nothing surprises him/her anymore**

Estar de vuelta de todo means to have seen it all, to be worldly-wise, or to be so experienced that nothing surprises you anymore.

It is often used with a slightly ironic or critical tone, suggesting that someone considers themselves too experienced or sophisticated to be impressed, shocked or enthusiastic about anything.

A common construction is:

Estar de vuelta de todo.

→ To have seen it all / to be worldly-wise.

• claims to have experienced everything
• is difficult to surprise
• reacts cynically to new ideas or experiences
• believes they are too experienced to be impressed
• behaves as though they already know everything
• has become disillusioned or cynical after many experiences

The expression is based on the literal meaning of estar de vuelta: having returned from somewhere.

Figuratively, the "journey" represents a person's experiences in life. Someone who is de vuelta de todo has metaphorically travelled everywhere and already experienced everything worth experiencing.

The expression therefore conveys the idea of extensive experience and familiarity with the world.

The expression is often ironic.

For example:

Se cree que está de vuelta de todo.

This does not necessarily praise the person. It may imply:

He thinks he knows it all and nothing can surprise him.

The phrase can therefore describe genuine experience, but it can also gently mock someone's cynicism, arrogance or sense of superiority.

The expression can describe both experience and disillusionment.

Compare:

Después de treinta años en la profesión, está de vuelta de todo.

→ After thirty years in the profession, he's seen it all.

with:

Está de vuelta de todo y ya nada le ilusiona.

→ He's become so jaded that nothing excites him anymore.

The context determines whether estar de vuelta de todo sounds like praise for experience or criticism of cynicism and lack of enthusiasm.

The literal structure can be confusing because de vuelta normally means "back" or "returned".

In this idiom, it is metaphorical:

Estar de vuelta de todo

does not mean:

to be back from everything

but:

to have seen it all

The English expression is an excellent equivalent because it preserves the idea of extensive experience.