para muestra basta un botón: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  SpainLatin AmericaGeneral (Spanish-speaking world)proverbialneutralMachine
  • Literally: for a sample, one button is enough; a small example suffices to illustrate the whole.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Para muestra basta un botón: este problema pequeño refleja todos los fallos del sistema.

    One single example is enough: this small problem reflects all the system's failures.

  • No hace falta revisar todo el informe; para muestra basta un botón con los datos del último mes.

    It's not necessary to review the entire report; one button is enough as a sample with the data from the last month.

  • Para muestra basta un botón, observa cómo reaccionó ella ante esa situación incómoda.

    One example suffices; see how she reacted to that awkward situation.

  • El desorden en su escritorio es evidente, y para muestra basta un botón: mira esa montaña de papeles.

    The mess on his desk is obvious, and one button suffices as a sample: look at that pile of papers.

• 2.

  SpainLatin AmericaGeneral (Spanish-speaking world)proverbialneutralMachine
  • Figuratively: one single example is sufficient to demonstrate a general truth or to prove a point.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Para muestra basta un botón: la última encuesta demuestra el descontento generalizado.

    One single example is enough: the latest survey shows the widespread discontent.

  • No necesito explicarte más; para muestra basta un botón con ese error que cometiste ayer.

    I don't need to explain further; one example is enough with that mistake you made yesterday.

  • Para muestra basta un botón, solo observa cómo el equipo ha mejorado desde la última temporada.

    One example suffices; just observe how the team has improved since last season.