cargar la mano — meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  SpainLatin Americacolloquialinformal
  • To act with excessive severity or force; to be heavy-handed in punishment, criticism, or enforcement.
  • To go too far in an action or reaction; to overdo or exaggerate in conduct or treatment.

  Examples

  Beta

  • El profesor cargó la mano al castigar a los estudiantes por un error menor en el examen.

    The teacher was heavy-handed punishing the students for a minor mistake on the exam.

  • No deberías cargar la mano con las críticas; un poco de apoyo ayudaría más que juzgar tan duramente.

    You shouldn't be so harsh with the criticism; a little support would help more than judging so severely.

  • Cuando vio que el niño rompió el jarrón, cargaron la mano sin preguntarle qué pasó realmente.

    When they saw the child broke the vase, they acted with excessive severity without asking what really happened.

• 2.

  SpainLatin Americacolloquial
  • To add too much of something (figuratively), such as emphasizing a point to the point of excess.

  Examples

  Beta

  • En su discurso, cargó la mano con los elogios hacia su equipo, y algunos pensaron que exageraba.

    In his speech, he overdid the praise for his team, and some thought he was exaggerating.

  • No cargues la mano al describir el problema; solo necesitamos los hechos claros y concisos.

    Don't overemphasize the problem; we just need the clear and concise facts.

  • Cuando María contó la historia de lo que pasó, cargó la mano un poco para impactar a sus amigos.

    When María told the story of what happened, she exaggerated a bit to impress her friends.