Pan con lo mismo

"Bread with the same".

That's the literal translation of today's phrase.  You may be tempted to think this is a handy phrase you can use the next time you're dining out at your favorite latin restaurant, but you'd be wrong.

So what does this mean?  Let's find out.

Have you ever had someone ask you "How's it going?" and then responded "Same as always"?  Well, this is where today's expression comes in handy. 

The next time someone asks you:

¿Cómo va todo?
How's everything going?

And if you have nothing new and exciting to tell them about, you can simply say:

Pan con lo mismo
The same as always

There are probably many ways to express this idea, but here's another one that's very Mexican:

Atole con lo mismo
The same as always

If you don't know what atole is, here's a picture:

Well, now you know what it looks like, but if you want an explanation of exactly what it is, you can read about it here, or if you prefer, here, in Spanish.  There is actually more than one recipe for atole, you can googlear it (yes, this is a real verb, te lo juro.  Click the link and see for yourself) and find quite a few.

I'm pretty sure Mexicans aren't the only one's who use this phrase, but you will definitely impress some people with this one.

If you want something a little less slangly and more universal, you can go with:

Lo mismo de siempre
The same as always

And there you have it.  We didn't talk about anything earth shattering, but these phrases will make you sound a little less like a gringo and more like a native speaker.

¡Hasta la próxima!