isabella

Como traduzco
To plumb the depths
To gild the lily
A dog-in-the-manger
A busman's holiday

Gracias

Marlene

Hi! I'd like to help you but I'd need some more context.
Would you mind providing the whole sentences?

isabella

Hi Marlene, I have no context. There are isolated idioms

Marlene

Hi Isabella, I cannot think of any proper translation unless I have context; idioms are those kind of phrases whose translation depends on the context, so it is very difficult for me to come up with an isolated translation.
Maybe some Spanish speaker specialized in the translation of idioms can help you here. In the meantime, I suggest you consult bilingual dictionaries if you have the possibility.
Good luck!

Veronica

I think these would be better of in the English Slang forum, do idioms count as slang?

To guild the lily means to try to improve something that is already good, or that can't be made any better: "You look beautiful like that, you are just trying to guild the lily."

A dog in the manger is like a Scrooge, someone who has something and doesn't use it, or doesn't need it, but won't give it to others either: "He is like a don in the manger. He is not going to eat that, but won't let me have it".

No idea about the other 2

__________________
mmm...jamón.

Ceci

Hi!
Idioms are very difficult to translate and sometimes you don't have an equivalent in Spanish - or the other way round. I'm a native Spanish speaker and when I come across idioms in English I look them up in a wonderful little dictionary by Longamn called "Longman Language Activator”. It has the definitions of most if not all English idioms. (It’s not bilingual). It helps me understand what the idiom means and if I can’t find an equivalent by looking up key words in a bilingual dictionary at least I can try and paraphrase what the text is trying to say. I know it’s difficult because sometimes, depending on the context you must translate the idioms into idioms. I know it’s not much help with your dilemma but hope it helps you find a way to solve it. Good luck!
PS: I haven’t found a similar thing in Spanish, would anybody know of such a dictionary in Spanish? Cheers!

Fabbi

To plumb the depths: sufrir mucho una vivencia negativa (" had plumbed the depths of despair").
To gild the lily: tratar de embellecer lo que ya de por si es hermoso.
A dog in the manger: en si una persona egocentrica, que trata de impedir que otros disfruten si el no puede ser parte.
Busman's holiday: vacaciones en las que uno hace las mismas cosas en un dia comun.

Suerte.