Pillarle el toro

/pi·ˈʝaɾ·le el ˈto·ɾo/

For the bull to catch someone.

Frequency

ConversationVery common

JournalismCommon

LiteraryOccasional

AcademicRare

In English

to run out of time; **to run out of time**; **to leave it until the last minute**; **to be caught out by a deadline**; **to be up against the clock**; **to be caught short**

Meaning

Pillarle el toro a alguien means to run out of time, to leave something until it is too late, or to find oneself overwhelmed because a deadline has arrived before the task has been completed.

Examples

Me ha pillado el toro y todavía no he terminado el trabajo.

I've run out of time and I still haven't finished the work.

Siempre lo dejo todo para el último día y al final me pilla el toro.

I always leave everything until the last day and then I run out of time.

Si no empiezas ya, te va a pillar el toro.

If you don't start now, you're going to run out of time.

Nos ha pillado el toro con la mudanza.

We've run out of time with the move.

It is especially common when someone has procrastinated or underestimated how much time they had.

Used when

has left a task until the last minute
is approaching a deadline without having finished
has underestimated how long something will take
suddenly has too much work to do
is no longer able to finish comfortably

Origin

The expression is associated with bullfighting and the image of a bull catching someone who has failed to get out of its way.

The metaphor is particularly effective because once the bull has caught up with you, there is no longer enough time to react calmly.

The expression therefore came to describe situations in which someone has delayed something until the deadline has effectively caught up with them.

Cultural note

The expression is often used with me, te, le, nos, os, les:

Me ha pillado el toro.

Te va a pillar el toro.

Nos ha pillado el toro.

The person is the one who has run out of time, while el toro represents the approaching deadline or unavoidable problem.

It can also be used even when there is no literal deadline:

Nos ha pillado el toro con la mudanza.

Here the idea is simply that the work has accumulated and there is no longer enough time to deal with it comfortably.

Did you know?

Spanish has several expressions for the feeling of being overwhelmed because time is running out:

Pillarle el toro → to run out of time.
Ir con el agua al cuello → to be in serious trouble / under enormous pressure.
Estar contra reloj → to be racing against the clock.
Hacer algo a última hora → to do something at the last minute.

Pillarle el toro is especially vivid because the approaching deadline is imagined as a bull that is catching up with you: once it reaches you, you have run out of options. ```

For English speakers

Do not translate:

Me ha pillado el toro.

as:

The bull has caught me.

Unless the context really is a bull.

Instead:

I've run out of time.

I'm up against the clock.

I've left it too late.