No ser santo de su devoción
Not to be a saint of someone's devotion.
not to be someone's cup of tea; **not to be someone's cup of tea**; **not to be someone's favourite person**; **not to be someone's favourite**; **to rub someone the wrong way**; **not to be someone's kind of person**
No ser santo de la devoción de alguien means not to be someone's cup of tea, not to be liked by someone, not to be particularly admired or appreciated, or to rub someone the wrong way.
Ese político no es santo de mi devoción.
That politician isn't my cup of tea.
Su jefe nunca ha sido santo de su devoción.
His boss has never been his favourite person.
No es santo de la devoción de sus compañeros.
His colleagues aren't particularly fond of him.
A mí ese actor no es santo de mi devoción.
That actor isn't really my cup of tea.
It usually expresses dislike, lack of sympathy or lack of appreciation, although it does not necessarily imply outright hatred.
- does not like another person
- has little sympathy for someone
- does not approve of someone's behaviour
- has never particularly admired someone
- prefers to keep their distance from someone
The expression comes directly from Catholic religious vocabulary.
In traditional Catholic practice, believers may have particular devotion to certain saints, whom they admire, venerate and regard as special intercessors.
If someone is not a "saint of your devotion", metaphorically speaking, that person is not someone you feel particular admiration or sympathy for.
The religious image has become completely conventional and is normally understood without any literal religious implication.
The expression is often deliberately less direct than saying «no me gusta» or «le cae mal».
For example:
«Ese hombre no es santo de mi devoción.»
can be a tactful way of saying:
«No me gusta demasiado ese hombre.»
It can therefore be useful when the speaker wants to express dislike without sounding openly hostile.
Spanish has a particularly rich set of indirect ways of expressing dislike:
- No ser santo de la devoción de alguien → not to be someone's cup of tea.
- No tragar a alguien → not to be able to stand someone.
- Tener manía a alguien → to have it in for someone.
- Tenerle ojeriza a alguien → to have a strong dislike of someone.
- Caer mal → not to be liked.
Of these, no ser santo de la devoción de alguien is one of the most elegant and least aggressive: it expresses dislike through the metaphor of religious devotion rather than direct rejection. ```
Do not translate:
No es santo de mi devoción.
literally as:
He isn't a saint of my devotion.
That would sound unnatural in English.
Depending on the context, say:
He's not my cup of tea.
I'm not particularly fond of him.
He's not my favourite person.
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