Ponerse hasta las trancas
backTo fill oneself up to the bars.
to stuff oneself; **to stuff oneself**; **to gorge oneself**; **to pig out**; **to get absolutely wasted**; **to get completely plastered**; **to binge on something**; **to indulge to excess**
Ponerse hasta las trancas means to consume something in huge quantities, to stuff oneself, or to get extremely drunk, depending on context.
En la boda nos pusimos hasta las trancas de comer.
We stuffed ourselves at the wedding.
Se puso hasta las trancas de marisco.
He gorged himself on seafood.
Ayer se pusieron hasta las trancas de cerveza.
Yesterday they got absolutely wasted on beer.
En Navidad nos ponemos hasta las trancas.
We stuff ourselves at Christmas.
Se pusieron hasta las trancas y acabaron cantando por la calle.
They got completely wasted and ended up singing in the street.
It is a very colloquial expression for doing or consuming something to excess.
A common construction is:
Ponerse hasta las trancas de + sustantivo.
→ To stuff oneself with / to get completely loaded on something.
It can also be used with an infinitive:
Ponerse hasta las trancas a + infinitivo.
→ To do something to excess.
- eats a huge amount of food
- drinks excessively
- consumes something in large quantities
- indulges in something without moderation
- occasionally, does an activity excessively
The expression is based on tranca, a bar or heavy beam used to close or secure a door.
The phrase hasta las trancas creates the image of something being filled right up to the point of closure or capacity.
This physical image was transferred to people who have consumed something to the limit.
Its meaning of excess or saturation is well established in colloquial Spanish.
The expression is particularly common around food and alcohol.
With food:
Nos pusimos hasta las trancas de comer.
→ We stuffed ourselves.
With alcohol:
Se pusieron hasta las trancas de copas.
→ They got absolutely wasted.
The expression itself indicates excess, while the object tells us what kind of excess is involved.
Spanish has many colloquial expressions for consuming something to excess, often based on the image of filling a container beyond normal capacity:
- Ponerse hasta las trancas
- Ponerse hasta arriba
- Ponerse hasta el culo
- Ponerse ciego
- Ponerse tibio
Their strength and vulgarity vary considerably, but all express the idea of having far more than enough.
Do not translate:
Me he puesto hasta las trancas.
as:
I've got myself up to the bars.
The natural translation depends on context:
I've stuffed myself.
I've had far too much to eat.
I've got absolutely wasted.
I've overindulged.
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