Pintar la mona is a Spanish expression which basically means to be doing nothing, to be bored or to be of no use in a certain situation. 

It’s a bit like saying that you’re twiddling your thumbs, to be neither use nor ornament or sitting idle. 

It’s usually used in the present continuous – pintando la mona – and it’s worth remembering that it’s a colloquial expression, but not offensive. 

Other ways of saying it in Spanish can be the more standard no hacer nada (to do nothing), sobrar (to not be needed) or the more vulgar tocarse los huevos (touch one’s balls). 

So what are the origins of this bizarre expression? Does it have anything to do with painting a simian portrait or chucking a bucket of paint over their head? Or perhaps the mona is a reference to Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa?

La Mona is actually a card game in Spain, a game of pairs to be precise where La Mona is the only card which doesn’t have a pair and the losing player ends up with it in their playing hand. 

There’s also the word pintamonas, which either describes a poor quality painter, or a person who is of no great use but pretends the opposite.

Another related expression is to dormir la mona (something along the lines of ‘sending the monkey to sleep’) which actually means to sleep off a hangover. 

So the next time you’re in a situation in Spain where you’re not serving any purpose and might as well go and do something else, remember the expression pintar la mona.

Examples:

Aquí estamos pintando la mona, así que mejor nos vamos.

We’re of no use here, so we might as well leave.

¡Deja de pintar la mona y vete a hacer los deberes!

Stop sitting around and go do your homework!