cuestas

slopes

noun KWES-tahs Rare

Also means

hills

Usage Note

Cuestas is the plural of cuesta ('slope, hill'). It appears most famously in the fixed idiom a cuestas ('on one's back/shoulders'), meaning carrying something as a burden: lleva sus problemas a cuestas ('he carries his problems on his back'). In everyday speech cuesta arriba ('uphill') and cuesta abajo ('downhill') are standard directional phrases.

Examples

"Las cuestas del pueblo son muy empinadas."

Natural Translation

The slopes of the village are very steep.

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