LAS LENGUAS INGLESA Y ESPAÑOLA de Delfín Carbonell

The Spanish idiomatic expression " De toda la vida" , which can be paralleled in English as  "from (since) the year dot (one), a lifelong, all-time, since forever, for as long as one can remember, long-standing", assumes that a "vida" is a very long time, whatever that may mean, and many idioms are using that word. I find it peculiar because the word "life" is a very vague term.    Es president de toda la vida He is been president since the year dot / Somos amigos de toda la vida We have been all-time friends / Es una costumbre que tienen de toda la via It’s a long-standing custom they have — “Se conocen de toda la vida.” La Voz de Galicia, 1991. Esp. || “… el país no puede estar lleno de demócratas de toda la vida.” La Vanguardia, 02/07/1995. Esp.  

He ahí, en lengua castellana, es un pequeño intríngulis porque ese "he" parece ser parte del verbo haber. En la Murray State University me costó 20 dólares por joven y alocado. Ya lo explica Corominas en su Diccionario etimológico que es expresión, o frase, que proviene del árabe y nada tiene que ver con el verbo haber, por mucho que se empeñe WordReference.  He ahí la cuestión - there's the rub He aquí el problema - this is the problem He allí el busilis - there's the gist He ahí la dificultad - there lies the difficulty He aquí el hombre - this is (behold) the man (Ecce Homo) Así que ojo al Cristo que es de plata.     

The Spanish expression "ser (parecer algo) la casa de la Troya," conveys the idea of pandemonium, bedlam, chaos, and racket. This idiomatic expression came into wide use as a result of the popular novel La casa de la Troya (1915) by Alejandro Pérez Lugín (1870-1926) about student life at the University of Santiago and at the place where many boarded, the flophouse Casa de la Troya. The phrase is not known by those under fifty but if you prick up your ears, you might still hear it. Remember that Bethlehem Royal Hospital, Bedlam, was/is a psychiatric hospital in London    .      

  Bullfighting has added many idioms to Spanish, like "estar para el arrastre", weak, tired, near death, which refers to the dead bull when it is dragged ("arrastrado") out of the ring. English has "be on one´s last legs" which refers to the last leg of a trip - "último tramo"-, possibly the end of life, when one is exhausted and ready to exit. So, we may say: "Jack doesn´t look so good and he may be on his last legs." In Spanish, we might say that "Jack no tiene buen aspecto y está para el arrastre." We can also say that someone "está en las últimas." En su " Cementerio de automóviles " (1979) nos dice Fernando Arrabal : "Y si no duermo ahora, mañana estaré para el arrastre."