Do you know your onions?

Onion (cebolla) you may know. And “know” (saber o conocer) too.

There are “onion rings” (aros de cebolla), “spring onions” (cebolletas), “red onions” (cebollas rojas) and “pickled onions” (cebolletas en vinagre).

So, do you know your onions? To “know your onions” is a phrase. If a mortal knows “his onions” he knows his subject or he has a lot of knowledge about something.

Perhaps in Spanish the phrase could mean “dominar el tema o saber mucho de algo”.

Here are 4 examples.

• You need to know your onions before starting a business (necesitas saber de qué van las cosas antes de iniciar un negocio)

• Mrs. Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer (ministro de hacienda y economía) in Great Britain, should know her onions when it comes to finance (…debería saber mucho de finanzas).

• Mr. Sánchez does not know his onions when it comes to the economy.

• Vanesa knows her onions when it comes to banking.

So, when it comes to finance (cuando se trata de finanzas…), do you know your onions?