flor
1 (Botánica) flower
un ramo de flores a bunch of flowers; un vestido de flores a floral dress
flores artificiales artificial flowers
flores secas dried flowers
a flor de labios (Latinoamérica)
siempre anda con una sonrisa a flor de labios he always has a slight grin on his face
de flor (S. Cone) very good; splendid
ir de flor en flor (gen) to flit from flower to flower; (en cuestiones amorosas) to flit from one lover to the next
¡ni flores!
—¿has oído alguna noticia? —¡ni flores! "have you heard any news?" — "not a thing"; de libros sé mucho, pero de cocina ni flores I know a lot about books, but I don't know the first thing about cooking (familiar)
de lo prometido, ni flores as for what they promised, not a word was mentioned (familiar)
ser flor de un día
su amor fue flor de un día their love was short-lived; su triunfo no fue flor de un día his win was no mere flash in the pan
ser flor de estufa to be very delicate
flor de lis fleur-de-lis; fleur-de-lys
flor de mano artificial flower
flor de nieve snowdrop
flor de Pascua poinsettia
flor somnífera opium poppy
2
en flor [+planta, campo] in flower; in bloom; [+árbol] in blossom; in flower [+muchacha] in the first flower of womanhood (literario)
los naranjos en flor the orange trees in blossom o flower
3
la flor (lo mejor)
la flor de la harina the finest flour
la flor del ejército the elite of the army; está en la flor de su carrera deportiva he is at the peak of his sporting career
en la flor de la edad in the flower of one's youth
la flor y nata de la sociedad the cream of society
en la flor de la vida in the prime of life
ser la flor de la canela to be the pick of the bunch (familiar)
4
a flor de agua
los peces se veían a flor de agua you could see the fish just under the surface of the water
a flor de cuño in mint condition
a flor de piel
tenía los nervios a flor de piel her nerves were all on edge; tiene la sensibilidad a flor de piel she is highly sensitive
el odio le salía a flor de piel his hatred came out into the open; his hatred came to the surface
a flor de tierra at ground level
5 (piropo) compliment; flattering remark
decir o echar flores a algn to pay compliments to sb; flatter sb
8 (S. Cone)
flor de
flor de caballo a wonderful horse; flor de alegre really happy; very cheerful; ¡flor de discurso se mandó! what a brilliant talk he gave!; flor de reloj me regalaste, ya no funciona what a great watch you bought me, it doesn't work anymore (irónico); flor de marido, le pega y no le da plata her husband is a real gem, he beats her up and gives her no money (irónico)
