“Ride” you may know. Here are some easy and common uses:
- A bike ride (paseo en bicicleta) or to go for a ride on a horse.
- A car ride (vuelta en coche). You might have taken someone for a ride in your Porsche. So, to go for a ride is go somewhere perhaps for the scenery and some time away from your town or house.
- Yesterday was Mr. Morales first ride in a Rolls Royce (ayer era la primera vez que Mr. Morales viajó en un Rolls Royce). This means that it was his first time in a Rolls Royce.
Those examples are the easy part.
Now for some idioms. Contemplate these:
- Sometimes mortals are “taken for a ride” by politicians. This means that they are tricked or deceived by falsehoods (falsedades). An example: Mr. Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, is “taking the people for a ride” with his explanations about the Covid vaccination programme. The Spanish people feel that they have been taken for a ride about the Covid vaccines (…siente que les han tomado el pelo…).
- Mr. Johnson, the British Prime Minister, “is riding high” in the opinión polls. This means that the opinión polls give him positive approvals.
- Mr. Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, is “letting things ride”. This means he is not doing anything to deal with an issue – he is just letting things take their course without intervention. Perhaps in Spanish he is “están dejando que las cosas sigan su curso.
