"Tirar / Lanzar la caña" = To throw the fishing rod*

To seduce. A very plastic image related to fishing. You throw your cane and wait to see whether you are lucky and someone bites your hook. It is normally used when you are on the pull or in a more general context, for anything you may be after.
"No paró de tirarle la caña en toda la noche, pero la chica / el chico no picó"

"Cantamañanas" = Morningsinger*

Informal and irresponsible person who is not worth either respect or credit. To be all talk and no action.
It's been quite interesting to google "cantamañanas" in images as many of the pictures directed me to policitians, erm... why would that be so? ;)
"Menudo tipo. Es un cantamañanas"
"¿Cómo se les ocurre darle un puesto de responsabilidad a ese cantamañanas?"
"La empresa la dirigen cuatro cantamañanas"

"Poner a alguien/algo a raya" = to put somebody/something at stripe*

To put someboy in his/her place and used extensively as to control.
 
"Ese niño necesita que lo pongan a raya", "Los padres saben cómo poner a raya a sus hijos"
"Mi jefe me tiene a raya" (here, the expression is used from the perspective of the person receiving the action)
"El nuevo plan de la policía intenta poner a raya la delici¡uencia del barrio"
"Hay que poner/tener el colesterol a raya"

"Tener monos en la cara" = To have monkeys on the face*

This expression is always used by someone who feels uncorfotable by being observed or stared in the following way: "¿Tengo monos en la cara?" as if asking "What are you looking at?"
"¿Qué miras? ¿Tengo monos en la cara?"

"Hacer botellón" = To do big bottle*

To arrange going street drinking with friends.
"¿Por qué no hacemos botellón este finde? Quedamos en mi casa y lo hablamos." "Vi a María en el tren. Iba a hacer botellón esta noche. ¿Quieres ir con nosotros?" (By Joshua Mole)

"hablar entre dientes" = To speak between the teeth*

To mumble, mutter or murmur  so that people cannot really understand what you are saying.

"Ser la alegría de la huerta" = To be the happiness of the orchard*

To be the lily of the valley, the life and soul of the party.
"Me encanta esa niña. Es la alegría de la huerta."

"Beber como un cosaco" = To drink like a Cossack*

"Ser una esponja", "Beberse el agua de los floreros" are also expressions meaning to drink a lot, like a fish.
"En ese grupo beben como cosacos. No hay quien les siga el ritmo"

"Estar a dos velas" = To be to two candles*

To be skint, penniless, broke :(
Similar expressions are "estar sin blanaca", "estar tiritando", "estar sin un duro".

"Me quedé sin trabajo ya hace unos meses y estoy a dos velas"
"Hoy no sale, dice que está a dos velas"

"chuleta" = Chop*

Crib (extra "help" to pass your tests).

Para el exámen de mañana tengo la chuleta perfecta. ¡Apruebo seguro!

 

Note: this word is also used to describe a big-headed person who ususally shows off about his appearance and stuff. It is definitely normally used to refer to men, while "chulo" can be used with the same meaning and accepts gender change: "chula".

Note to note: chulo and chula also means "cool"
¡Qué camiseta tan chula!
Cómpratelo en ese color, que es muy chulo

"Tener más cara que espaldas" = To have more face than back*

To be cheecky. People also say "tener la cara dura", "tener la cara como una piedra", "tener (mucha) jeta", "tener morro", "ser un cara".
"A esa me la conozco bien. Tiene más cara que espaldas. Cuidado con ella."
"Menuda jeta tiene tu amigo. No me conoce de nada y ya me ha pedido que le invite a mi piscina."
"Tus primos son unos caras. La consola es de todos y sólo juegan ellos."

 

P.S. So sorry Mr. Mackey, you just happened to have the looks though you don't fit the profile M'kay? ;)

"Tener la mano larga" = To have a long hand*

To have a tendency to hit others very quickly. To be prone to use physical contact.
"¡Vaya con el niño! !Qué mano más larga tiene!"
"Deja de pegar a tus hermanos. No se puede tener la mano tan larga."
A second meaning would be to have sticky fingers.

In some South American countries the expresssion is also used to refer to thiefs as well as men who like touching women without their consent.

"Fumar como / más que un carretero" = To smoke like a cart driver

To smoke like a chimney
"Fumas como un carretero, no me extraña que tosas así"

"Tener pocas luces" = To have little lights*

To be stupid, not very smart.
"Qué pocas luces tiene esta gente"
"Con ese comentario se demuestra las pocas luces que tiene"

"hablar por los codos" = To speak through the elbows*

To talk nineteen to the dozen. To talk the hind leg(s) off a donkey.
"Es insoportable escuchar tantas historias de una vez. Habla por los codos"

"Estar como una regadera" = To be like a watering can*

To be completely crazy. Similar expressions are "Estar como una cabra", "Estar como un cencerro", "Estar tocado(a)", "Estar zumbado(a)", "Estar chalado(a)", "Estar ido(a)", "Estar tarado(a)"....

"Aplatanarse" = To go banana*

To go weary or lethargic. It is interesting to note that in south America it implies to go native.

"Pillarse los dedos" = To pinch one's fingers*

To get in trouble for something said or done. "No pillarse los dedos" is the same as "curarse en salud" i.e. avoid trouble.
"Ese negocio no le intereda, se podría pillar los dedos"
"Ellos saben lo que hacen y procuran no pillarse los dedos /curarse en salud "

"Seguir en sus trece" = To keep in one's thirteen*

To stand firm on  your opinion.
"No voy a cambiar de opinión. Sigo en mis trece"
"Él sigue en sus trece. Lo tiene claro"

"Estar hecho(a) un Cristo" = To be made a Christ*

To be in a deplorable condition either beacuse you look terrible or because you have visible wounds after any kind of accident.
"¡Mirad como viene! Está hecho un cristo"

"Estar sembrado(a)" = To be sown*

To be specially smart in a particular moment.
"Así se habla. Hoy estás sembrada"

"Cubalibre" = FreeCuba*

"Cubalibre", "cubata" and "copa" are the terms used to ask for an alcoholic drink. Originally, a cubalibre is rum-cola drink but the term got extended for all possible combinations of spirits and refreshments.

"Estar hecho(a) un flan" = To be made a crème caramel*

To be extremely nervous or scared. To shake like jelly. "Estar como un flan" is also said and it is a fixed expression (no change of gender needed)
"Desde que sé que viene, estoy hecha un flan"
"Estoy como un un flan por culpa del exámen"

"Tener enchufe" = To have a socket*

Contact to get a job or any other kind of benefit. Imagine you are a plug and find a socket! You are in!You become an "enchufado(a)"

"¿Has visto qué pronto lo han contratado? Tiene un buen enchufe"
"Ya verás que bien le va en la empresa. Es un(a) enchufado(a)"

"Chorizo" = Spicy sausage*

Thief or thug. It has also derived into a verb: "chorizear" (to steal)

"Todos los políticos son unos chorizos"

"Hacer la vista gorda" = To make the sight fat*

To turn a blind eye.

"Ser un cocinillas" = To be a little stoves*

To love cooking and being good at it.

"Rizar el rizo" = To curl the curl*

To complicate things when it was completely unnecessary. In English you have "splitting hairs" or "gilding the lily".

"Hablar de eso ahora es ya rizar el rizo"
"Y va y se le ocurre mencionar a su familiar, ¡vamos! rizando el rizo"

"Ser la caña" = to be the cane*

To be awesome. Use this expression for everything: situations, things, people. To sound even more authentic, please add a typical ending: "Ser la caña de España"
"Esa peli es la caña (de España)"
"Qué caña, cómo mola"
"Ese tío / Esa tía es la caña (de España)"

"Un marrón" = A brown*

Obviously, we are not talking about a colour here, but a problem or difficult situation. The idiomatic expression people use is "comerse un marrón" (To eat a brown*) when they want to say they have to face a problem and more often than not, it is somebody else's. If the problem is definitely a big one, go for "marronazo".  Another slang expression is "patata caliente".

"¡ Madre mía qué marrón! ¿Qué hacemos ahora?"
"Yo paso de comerme sus marrones"
"¡Esto es un marronazo, tío!"