Ponerse ciego a
To become blind from something.
to stuff oneself with; **to stuff oneself with**; **to gorge oneself on**; **to pig out on**; **to binge on**; **to have loads of**; **to do something to excess**
Ponerse ciego a algo means to consume or do something to excess, to have a huge amount of something, or to indulge in something excessively.
Nos pusimos ciegos a comer.
We stuffed ourselves.
Se puso ciego a marisco.
He gorged himself on seafood.
Ayer nos pusimos ciegos de cerveza.
Yesterday we drank loads of beer.
Los niños se pusieron ciegos a jugar.
The kids played to their heart's content.
Se puso ciego a trabajar y acabó agotado.
He worked himself to exhaustion.
It is especially common with food and drink, but can also be used with other activities.
A common construction is:
Ponerse ciego a + sustantivo.
→ To gorge oneself on / to stuff oneself with something.
It can also be followed by an infinitive:
Ponerse ciego a + infinitivo
→ To do something excessively.
- eats an enormous amount
- drinks excessively
- consumes something greedily
- spends a long time doing something
- indulges in an activity to excess
The expression is based on the metaphorical use of ciego to describe someone who has lost moderation or control.
The idea is not that excessive consumption literally causes blindness, but that someone who has indulged enormously is metaphorically "blind" to limits or consequences.
The expression belongs to a broader colloquial use of physical conditions to describe extreme states or behaviour.
The expression is particularly common with food:
Nos pusimos ciegos a comer.
This can simply mean:
We ate loads.
It does not necessarily imply pathological overeating. In many everyday contexts it is playful and means that everyone ate very well and in large quantities.
It can also be used with alcohol:
Se pusieron ciegos de vino.
→ They drank a huge amount of wine.
With activities, the construction often means doing something intensely or continuously:
Se puso ciego a trabajar.
→ He worked like crazy / He worked himself to exhaustion.
Ponerse ciego a comer and ponerse las botas can sometimes be almost interchangeable:
En la boda nos pusimos ciegos a comer.
En la boda nos pusimos las botas.
Both can mean:
We stuffed ourselves at the wedding.
However, ponerse las botas often has a slightly more positive or celebratory nuance, whereas ponerse ciego emphasises the quantity or excess.
The preposition can vary depending on the construction:
Ponerse ciego a comer.
Ponerse ciego de cerveza.
Ponerse ciego de algo.
Do not translate ciego literally.
Natural English depends strongly on the context:
to stuff oneself
to gorge oneself
to binge on
to work oneself to exhaustion
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