bandear

To cross from one side to another — a river, a mountain range, or a difficult situation — and, in its reflexive form bandearse, a common colloquial way to say "to manage" or "get by on one's own": me las bandeo solo. Both senses share the underlying idea of getting across to the other side.

• Bandearon el río a nado. — They crossed the river by swimming.
• Me las bandeo bien sin ayuda. — I manage just fine without help.
• Tuvo que bandearse solo en la ciudad nueva. — He had to fend for himself alone in the new city.

The reflexive bandearse ("to manage/get by") is far more common in everyday speech than the plain transitive bandear ("to cross") — a learner who only knows the literal crossing sense will miss it in casual conversation.

Often confused with arreglárselas.