Poner pegas

to raise objections; **to raise objections**; **to find fault**; **to make excuses**; **to be difficult about everything**; **to nitpick**

Poner pegas means to keep finding faults, objections or excuses that make it difficult to accept an idea, proposal or plan.

The expression often suggests that the objections are excessive, trivial or unhelpful.

Someone may poner pegas to every suggestion during a meeting.

A customer may poner pegas before signing a contract.

A child may poner pegas before eating vegetables.

The idiom usually conveys impatience with someone who seems unwilling to cooperate.

• keeps objecting to everything
• finds fault with every proposal
• makes unnecessary difficulties
• invents excuses to avoid doing something
• refuses to cooperate by constantly raising objections

The noun pega has long been used to mean an inconvenience, drawback or obstacle.

For centuries Spanish speakers have used poner pegas to describe the act of introducing difficulties that slow down or prevent agreement.

Today, the expression is far more common than the noun itself used in isolation.

Spanish speakers generally distinguish between offering constructive criticism and simply poner pegas.

Someone who pone pegas is often perceived as negative because they identify problems without helping to solve them.

For this reason, the expression frequently carries a mildly critical tone.

The expression is so common that Spaniards often use it without even mentioning what the objections are.

Simply saying "Siempre pone pegas" immediately conveys the image of someone who habitually complicates matters by resisting almost every proposal.

This makes it one of the most useful everyday idioms for describing interpersonal behaviour.

Do not translate the expression literally.

English speakers would not naturally say:

He puts objections.

Instead, use expressions such as:

• He keeps finding fault.
• She's making excuses.
• He's raising objections to everything.

The exact translation depends on whether the emphasis is on criticism, excuses or resistance.