meter mano

Spanish

Etymology

Literally, “to stick hand in”.

Verb

meter mano a (first-person singular present meto mano a, first-person singular preterite metí mano a, past participle metido mano a)

1. (idiomatic) to touch up, grope
   • 1987, José Luis Olaizola, Planicio:

     decían que al monte Urgull iban las parejas a meterse mano […]

     Mount Urugull was said to be the place couples go to cop a feel […]

2. (idiomatic) to deal with; tackle
   • 1902, Benito Pérez Galdós, Narváez:

     se halla dispuesto a meter mano a todo el que perturbe, sin distinción de pobres y ricos.

     He is willing to deal with anything annoying, without distinguishing between the rich and the poor.

   • 2022 March 23, Orlando Ramos Esalas, “Piden al DATT que pinte las cebras sobre la Pedro Romero”, in Alerta Caribe‎:

     están pidiendo al DATT, que le meta mano a la señalización de esa zona

     they're asking DATT to get down to the signage in the area

Further reading

• “meter mano a”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025