Meterse en camisa de once varas
/meh-TEHR-seh ehn kah-MEE-sah deh OHN-seh BAH-rahs/
To get involved in a complicated, difficult situation, often unnecessarily; to bite off more than you can chew.
💡 Understanding the Idiom
🎨 Literal vs. Figurative
Literally, this means 'to get into a shirt of eleven rods' (an old unit of length).
In practice, it means getting yourself into a complicated, messy situation.
Key Words in This Idiom:
📝 In Action
No opines sobre su divorcio, no te metas en camisa de once varas.
B2Don't give your opinion on their divorce, don't get yourself into a messy situation.
Intenté arreglar el ordenador yo mismo y al final me metí en una camisa de once varas.
B2I tried to fix the computer myself and in the end, I got in way over my head.
Querer organizar el festival sin ayuda es meterse en camisa de once varas.
C1Trying to organize the festival without help is biting off more than you can chew.
📜 Origin Story
This fascinating phrase comes from a medieval adoption ritual. To make an adoption official, the adopting father would pass the child through a very wide sleeve of a specially-made large shirt ('camisa'), symbolizing a new birth into the family. This ceremony created a legal bond as strong as a blood tie, complete with all the potential problems, duties, and inheritance disputes. So, 'getting into the shirt' became a metaphor for entering a complex, binding, and potentially troublesome situation. The 'once varas' (about 9 meters or 30 feet) was an exaggeration to emphasize just how big and complicated the commitment was.
⭐ Usage Tips
A Warning to Stay Out of Trouble
Use this phrase to warn someone (or to describe yourself) who is about to get involved in a problem that's not their business or is far too complex to handle easily. It often implies the trouble is self-inflicted.
Use the Full Phrase
This idiom is almost always used in its complete form. You wouldn't just say someone is 'in a shirt' ('en una camisa'); the 'once varas' part is what gives it its specific meaning of a complicated mess.
❌ Common Pitfalls
It's Not About Clothing
Mistake: "Thinking the phrase has anything to do with actual clothes or measurements today."
Correction: This phrase is 100% figurative. A 'vara' is an obsolete unit of measurement, so mentioning it immediately signals you're using an old saying. Never use it to describe a real shirt, no matter how big it is.
🌎 Where It's Used
Spain
Extremely common and a classic idiom that everyone knows and uses.
Latin America
Widely understood in most countries, but its usage can vary. In some places, it might sound a bit formal or old-fashioned, with other local expressions like 'meterse en un lío' or 'meterse en un berenjenal' being more common.
🔗 Related Idioms
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: Meterse en camisa de once varas
Question 1 of 1
If your friend says 'Quise ayudar y me metí en camisa de once varas', what happened?
🏷️ Tags
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is a 'vara'?
A 'vara' is an old Spanish unit of length, roughly 84 centimeters or about 33 inches. So, 'once varas' would be over 9 meters (about 30 feet) long! The ridiculously large size is used to emphasize how big and complicated the 'problem' or 'situation' is.