MANGAS Y CAPIROTES

Grappling with the idiomatic expression "hacer mangas y capirotes" and trying to find an English equivalent to it, I have run into an unexpected problem. I asked my youngest daughter about its meaning only to hear: "Never heard of such an expression". My wife gave me the exact same answer. I went to the Real Academia Española data banks and found in CORDE 33 usage examples. CREA has given me 14 hits. Pardo Bazán, Pérez Galdós, Ricardo Palma, Eduardo Mendoza, and others, myself included, have used "hacer mangas y capirotes."  Palma, in his Tradiciones peruanas, 1, 1872 wrote: "... anduvo su honra en lenguas de las comadres de Lima, que hacían de ella mangas y capirotes."  

Most bilingual dictionaries do not seem to have understood the meaning of "hacer mangas y capirotes", do as one pleases or wishes, "hacer uno lo que le salga de las narices" or simply going rogue. El DRAE dice: "Resolver y ejecutar con prontitud y caprichosamente algo, sin detenerse en inconvenientes ni dificultades." I have come with the English: Do as one wishes, go rogue.

Go rogue Ir por libre, desmadrarse, hacer uno mangas y capirotes

The group went rogue and attacked the enemy El grupo fue por libre y atacó al enemigo

— “… still wary that a member might go rogue and injure someone.” Andscape, Apeil 30, 2024. N. Zeal. || “What happens when the heroes go rogue and start abusing their powers?” Gizmodo, June 28, 2024. Aust