no ver ni pies ni cabeza a: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  All Spanish-speaking regionsneutralcolloquialMachine
  • Literal: not to see either the feet or the head of someone or something, i.e., to see no discernible parts or structure.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Desde lejos no se ve ni pies ni cabeza a la estatua porque está cubierta por una lona.

    From afar, you can't see either the feet or the head of the statue because it is covered by a tarp.

  • El manuscrito estaba tan deteriorado que no se veía ni pies ni cabeza al texto original.

    The manuscript was so deteriorated that you couldn't see either the feet or the head of the original text.

  • En la pintura abstracta, no se ve ni pies ni cabeza a las figuras, es difícil distinguirlas.

    In the abstract painting, you can't see either the feet or the head of the figures; it's hard to distinguish them.

  • Durante la niebla espesa, no se veía ni pies ni cabeza a las personas que caminaban por la calle.

    During the thick fog, you couldn't see either the feet or the head of the people walking on the street.

• 2.

  All Spanish-speaking regionsneutralcolloquialMachine
  • Figurative: to find something incoherent, illogical, or without sense; to perceive no order or meaning.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Leí su explicación varias veces y no le veía ni pies ni cabeza, era completamente confusa.

    I read his explanation several times and found it completely incoherent.

  • La propuesta del equipo no tiene ni pies ni cabeza; debemos replantearla desde cero.

    The team's proposal makes no sense; we need to rethink it from scratch.

  • No veo ni pies ni cabeza a ese argumento, ¿podrías explicarlo mejor, por favor?

    I can't make sense of that argument; could you please explain it better?