“Whisker” you may know. Cats have whiskers (bigotes), as do many animals. Cats use their whiskers to feel their way around. Some men have whiskers, that is, a mustache.
Here the focus is on idioms (modismos) that use “whisker”. Examine these:
- Mr. Sanchez became Prime Minister “by a whisker” (por un pelo). Or you could say “by a cat’s whisker”. He got 167 votes in his favour and 165 against – a narrow margin, or by a whisker.
- There is also the structure “within a whisker of”. An example: Mr. Sanchez came within a whisker of losing the vote (…faltó un pelo para que perdiera…).
- The bullet (bala) missed the soldier by a whisker.
