Hello!

How are you doing? I hope everything is going well.

Today I’d like to talk about a very common expression in the Spanish language to refer to the wrinkles around the eyes: patas de gallo. The literal meaning in English is rooster’s feet, but the equivalent expression would be crow’s feet.

Another way we use this expression is to refer to flip-flops: patas de gallo. This expression, as you may guess, is colloquial.

Let’s see some examples:

(From 19:08 to 19:12) A mucha gente le sucede esto aquí, por ejemplo, en los pliegues de las patas de gallo…

Many people experience this here, for example, in the folds of crow’s feet.

(From 4:42 to 4:48) Además puede apretar la piel alrededor de los ojos para reducir la apariencia de las patas de gallo.

In addition, it can tighten the skin around the eyes to reduce the appearance of the crow’s feet.

Another example can be seen in this L’Oréal article about how to get rid of crow’s feet.

https://www.loreal-paris.com.mx/como-quitar-las-patas-de-gallo

Now let’s see some examples of patas de gallo meaning flip-flops. A quick search in Amazon website will show the following options:

Even though the product titles start with the word chanclas (sandals), we usually just call them patas de gallo.

Now, it’s your turn! Have you ever heard this phrase before?

Could you think of a situation where you could use it? Let me know in the comments.

See you next time!

Crédito de la foto de portada | Photo credit: Ellis Lee en Unsplash