NATIVE SPEAKERS AND IDIOMS

I am always doing linguistic fieldwork. It means my ears are pricked up when I venture out, outdoors. In coffee shops, public transportation, and sauntering, I catch snatches of conversations from people from all walks of life. Mind you, I am not eavesdropping, just taking in what I hear, helter-skelter. You probably know that I make my home in Madrid where, albeit comfortable and at ease, I do not consider "home." But I digress. The other day I heard an elderly lady say "dar sopas con honda" (give soup with a sling.) "Yo les daba sopas con honda a todos mis condiscípulos" she was saying... meaning, of course, that she ran rings around them, outsmarted her classmates. It got me thinking about how many speakers of Spanish and English would understand either "dar sopas con honda" or "run rings around someone"? I can find plenty of literary citations for both... but, how about the run-of-the-mill native speaker? I will ask relatives, acquaintances, friends, and passers-by, and let you know.