Poner a caer de un burro
To make someone fall off a donkey.
to tear someone apart; **to tear someone apart**; **to slag someone off** (British English); **to bad-mouth someone**; **to trash someone**; **to rip into someone**
Poner a alguien a caer de un burro means to criticise someone very harshly, insult them or speak very badly about them.
Lo puso a caer de un burro delante de todos.
She tore him apart in front of everyone.
Siempre que habla de su jefe lo pone a caer de un burro.
Whenever he talks about his boss, he absolutely slags him off.
Se pasó toda la comida poniéndolo a caer de un burro.
He spent the whole lunch bad-mouthing him.
Después de la reunión nos puso a todos a caer de un burro.
After the meeting, he ripped into all of us.
It usually refers to verbal attacks rather than physical confrontation.
- insults another person
- criticises someone relentlessly
- bad-mouths someone behind their back
- speaks with great contempt about another person
- tears someone's reputation apart
It reads as plain common sense, drawn straight from everyday experience.
The expression is centuries old, and several explanations have been proposed.
The most widely accepted interpretation is that the donkey symbolises humiliation, and that the force of the criticism metaphorically knocks the victim from their mount.
Although the historical details remain unclear, the figurative meaning has remained remarkably stable.
The expression usually refers to excessive criticism.
A person who pone a alguien a caer de un burro is not simply expressing disagreement—they are speaking with unusual harshness or contempt.
The criticism may be delivered directly or behind the person's back.
Spanish has many expressions for verbal criticism:
- Poner a alguien a caer de un burro → to tear someone apart.
- Poner verde a alguien → to bad-mouth someone.
- Despellejar a alguien → to criticise someone mercilessly.
- Hablar a sus espaldas → to talk behind someone's back.
Among them, poner a caer de un burro is one of the most vivid, suggesting criticism so fierce that it metaphorically knocks the other person to the ground.
Do not translate the expression literally.
English speakers would never say:
He made him fall off a donkey.
Instead, use expressions such as:
- He tore him apart.
- She ripped into him.
- They bad-mouthed him.
- He absolutely slagged him off. (British English)
Choose the translation according to the level of hostility.
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