Echar por la borda

/eh-CHAR por la BOR-dah/

To waste, discard, or ruin something valuable, like an opportunity, a relationship, or a lot of hard work.

Level:B2Register:NeutralCommon:★★★★☆

💡 Understanding the Idiom

Literal Translation:

"To throw overboard"

What It Really Means:

To waste, discard, or ruin something valuable, like an opportunity, a relationship, or a lot of hard work.

English Equivalents:

To throw awayTo throw down the drainTo let something go to wasteTo squander

🎨 Literal vs. Figurative

💭 Literal

Literally, this means 'to throw something overboard' from a ship.

✨ Figurative

In reality, it means to waste or ruin a lot of effort, an opportunity, or a relationship.

Key Words in This Idiom:

echarborda

📝 In Action

Después de tanto estudiar, no vayas a echarlo todo por la borda en el último momento.

After studying so much, don't go and throw it all away at the last minute.

Discutieron y echaron por la borda años de amistad por una tontería.

They argued and threw away years of friendship over something silly.

La empresa echó por la borda una gran oportunidad de negocio por no actuar a tiempo.

The company squandered a great business opportunity by not acting in time.

📜 Origin Story

This phrase comes directly from the world of sailing. 'La borda' is the side or edge of a ship. In a dangerous storm, sailors would have to lighten the ship to keep it from sinking. To do this, they would 'echar por la borda' — throw cargo overboard. This meant sacrificing valuable goods to save the ship and their lives. The idea of sacrificing something important stuck, and now the phrase is used for wasting any valuable effort, opportunity, or relationship.

⭐ Usage Tips

For Wasting Big Things

Use 'echar por la borda' when talking about wasting something significant that took time or effort to build. Think of things like a career, a long-term project, a relationship, or a golden opportunity. It emphasizes the scale of the loss.

It Implies a Choice

This idiom often suggests that the loss was the result of a bad decision or foolish action. Someone actively did something to ruin the situation, just like a sailor actively throws cargo into the sea.

❌ Common Pitfalls

Don't Use It For Everyday Trash

Mistake: "Using the phrase for throwing out small, insignificant things, like 'Eché por la borda la cáscara de plátano'."

Correction: This idiom is almost always used figuratively for valuable things. For regular garbage, stick to 'tirar a la basura'. Using 'echar por la borda' for an apple core would sound overly dramatic and strange, unless you were actually on a boat.

🌎 Where It's Used

🇪🇸

Spain

Extremely common and universally understood.

🌎

Latin America

Widely used and understood across most countries. It's a standard expression.

🔗 Related Idioms

↔️Similar Meanings

tirar por la ventana

To throw out the window; often used for extravagantly wasting money.

mandar al traste

To ruin or spoil something, to send it to the scrap heap.

⇆Opposite Meanings

aprovechar la oportunidad

To seize the opportunity.

sacar provecho de

To make the most of something.

✏️ Quick Practice

💡 Quick Quiz: Echar por la borda

Question 1 of 1

Si un amigo te dice: 'No eches por la borda todo tu esfuerzo', ¿qué te está aconsejando?

🏷️ Tags

FailureProblemsTransportationCommonly Used

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 'echar por la borda' always negative?

Yes, it almost always has a negative connotation. It implies the loss or ruin of something that was valuable, whether it's time, effort, a relationship, or an opportunity. It's about waste and regret.