caer en saco roto
verbCEFR B2
What does “caer en saco roto” mean in English?
to fall on deaf ears, to go unheeded
to fall on deaf ears, to go unheeded (communication heard but ignored; subject = communicative act)
Example sentences
Las recomendaciones del comité cayeron en saco roto: nadie las aplicó.
The committee's recommendations fell on deaf ears: nobody applied them.
Espero que esta vez mis palabras no caigan en saco roto como las veces anteriores.
I hope my words don't fall on deaf ears this time as they have before.
El informe no cayó en saco roto: tres meses después se aprobaron las reformas.
The report didn't go unheeded: three months later the reforms were approved.
How to use it
Caer en saco roto (literally 'to fall into a torn sack') means 'to fall on deaf ears', 'to be wasted', or 'to go unheeded'. It describes words, advice, warnings, or efforts that produce no result because the listener ignores them. The subject is typically a communicative act (advertencias, palabras, sugerencias) rather than a person. Contrast with ser ignorado (passive, just not heard) and caer en saco roto (implies the words were heard but not acted on).
Common mistake
No English single-word verb covers this precisely. 'Fall on deaf ears' is the closest idiom. Don't confuse with ser ignorado (passive voice, neutral) — caer en saco roto implies the communication happened but was disregarded. The phrase is always used with communicative nouns as subject (palabras, advertencias, propuestas) not people.