templar gaitas: meaning & examples

Meanings:

• 1.

  Spain (notably Galicia)neutral
  • Literal: to tune a gaita (bagpipe); to adjust the instrument's pitch or tuning.

  Examples

  Beta

  • El músico pasó la tarde templando las gaitas para el concierto del sábado.

    The musician spent the afternoon tuning the bagpipes for Saturday's concert.

  • Antes de comenzar a tocar, es fundamental templar las gaitas para que suenen bien afinadas.

    Before starting to play, it's essential to tune the bagpipes so they sound well tuned.

  • Cada vez que voy a la fiesta tradicional, veo a los expertos templando las gaitas con mucha paciencia.

    Every time I go to the traditional festival, I see experts tuning the bagpipes with great patience.

  • Templar las gaitas es un proceso delicado que requiere experiencia para no dañar el instrumento.

    Tuning the bagpipes is a delicate process that requires experience to avoid damaging the instrument.

• 2.

  Spaininformalcolloquial
  • Figurative: to distract, placate, or appease someone with trivial talk, excuses, or nonsense; to stall or evade a matter by using empty words.

  Examples

  Beta

  • Cuando le pregunté por el retraso, empezó a templar gaitas con excusas que no me convencieron.

    When I asked him about the delay, he started placating me with excuses that didn't convince me.

  • No intentes templar gaitas para evitar hablar del problema, es mejor confrontarlo directamente.

    Don't try to stall with nonsense to avoid talking about the problem; it's better to confront it directly.

  • Ella siempre templa gaitas cuando quiere evitar responsabilidades en el trabajo.

    She always uses empty talk to evade responsibilities at work.