parar bolas

1.
All Spanish-speaking regionsneutral
- Literally: to stop balls (literal plural use, e.g., in sports contexts).
2.
CaribbeanVenezuelaArgentinaPuerto RicoDominican Republicinformalcolloquial
- Figuratively: to pay attention to, to heed, or to take notice of someone or something.

Examples:

ES: Charly, yo a usted le dije y usted no me quiso parar bolas.
EN: Charly, I told you, and you didn't want to listen to me.
ES: Pero no le voy a parar bolas, porque tenemos trabajo.
EN: Don't worry about it. We have work to do.
ES: Fijate, te voy a parar bolas solamente porque este te está vendiendo.
EN: I'm just going to shut up and listen because he's promoting you.
ES: Nadie le va a parar bolas. ¿Quién le va a parar bolas?
EN: No one will listen to him.
EN: No one will listen to him.
ES: Hombre, que, si Charly y yo salimos a contar esta historia, pues, no nos van a parar bolas.
EN: Man, if Charly and I tell this story, they won't listen to us.