No estar muy católico

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/no es·ˈtaɾ mui ka·ˈto·li·ko/

Not to be very Catholic.

Frequency

ConversationVery common

JournalismCommon

LiteraryOccasional

AcademicRare

In English

not to be feeling very well; **not to be feeling very well**; **to be under the weather**; **not to be in great shape**; **not to be quite right**; **to be in poor condition**

Meaning

No estar muy católico means not to be feeling well, not to be in good shape, not to be quite right, to be under the weather, or to be in a poor state.

Examples

Hoy no estoy muy católico.

I'm not feeling very well today.

El coche no está muy católico.

The car isn't in very good shape.

La empresa no anda muy católica.

The company isn't doing too well.

Después de la comida no me encuentro muy católico.

I'm feeling a bit under the weather after lunch.

It can refer both to people and to situations.

Used when

someone feels slightly ill
a person is tired or weak
something is not working properly
a situation looks worrying
a project or business is not going well

Origin

It belongs to the living, colloquial layer of the language, where a striking phrase is enough to make it stick.

Historically, católico was associated with the idea of being sound, orthodox or in proper condition.

Over time, saying that someone or something was not very Catholic came to mean that it was somehow not quite right.

Modern speakers generally use the expression without any religious intention.

Cultural note

Despite containing the word católico, the expression is almost entirely secular today.

It is commonly used by speakers regardless of their religious beliefs.

In everyday conversation, it is simply a mild and often humorous way of saying that something is not in its best condition.

Did you know?

Spanish has many expressions describing poor condition or health:

No estar muy católico → not to be feeling very well.
Estar hecho polvo → to be exhausted.
Estar pachucho → to feel a bit ill.
Estar para el arrastre → to be completely worn out.

Among them, no estar muy católico is one of the most versatile because it can refer equally to a person's health, a machine, a business or almost any situation that is clearly not at its best.

For English speakers

Do not translate the expression literally.

English speakers would never say:

I'm not very Catholic today.

Instead, use expressions such as:

I'm not feeling very well.
I'm under the weather.
It's not in very good shape.
Things aren't looking too good.

Choose the translation according to whether the context refers to health or to the condition of something.