coser a balazos: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  SpainLatin Americainformalcolloquialviolent
  • To shoot repeatedly at someone or something; to riddled with bullets.
  • To fire many bullets in rapid succession with the intent to wound or kill.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Los policías tuvieron que coser a balazos el coche para detener a los criminales que huían.

    The police had to shoot the car repeatedly to stop the fleeing criminals.

  • Ayer en el barrio, un grupo armado comenzó a coser a balazos la fachada de la tienda.

    Yesterday in the neighborhood, an armed group started shooting the storefront repeatedly.

  • No quiero que mi casa sea cosida a balazos durante la guerra, por eso me mudé a otro país.

    I don't want my house riddled with bullets during the war, that's why I moved to another country.

  • El soldado fue cosido a balazos mientras intentaba proteger a sus compañeros en el campo de batalla.

    The soldier was shot repeatedly while trying to protect his comrades on the battlefield.

• 2.

  SpainLatin Americafigurativecolloquial
  • To attack relentlessly in a nonliteral sense, such as with severe criticism or overwhelming pressure.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Durante la reunión, el jefe cosió a balazos a críticas a los empleados por los errores del proyecto.

    During the meeting, the boss relentlessly attacked the employees with criticism for the project's mistakes.

  • No podía soportar que me cosieran a balazos con preguntas difíciles todo el tiempo en la entrevista.

    I couldn't stand being relentlessly bombarded with tough questions the whole time in the interview.

  • Cada vez que presentaba una idea, los competidores la cosían a balazos con comentarios negativos.

    Every time I presented an idea, competitors relentlessly attacked it with negative comments.