Charlotte Markham
Sometimes you may find you just cannot find the words to express to the numpty opposite you how your feeling. I dare you to grasp outside the box and delve out this cracking Portuguese idioms. I literally use them ALL THE TIME.
Source: http://www.footlooselemonjuice.com/2018/04/05/every-portuguese-idiom-you-need/
Meaning: Putting up with a lot of unpleasantries silently
i.e: Not complaining even in a disagreeable situation
Simply put: Being a bit of a wet lettuce OR an optimistic perseverer
Perfectly adequate moments to use it:
– when someone brings you the wrong order and you eat it in silent dismay
– keeping a smiley face in a never-ending team building meeting
– staring as your luscious locks go tumbling to the ground at the hands of a scissor-happy hairdresser
Meaning: Telling someone to get lost
i.e: Telling someone to leave you alone
Simply put: buzz off
Perfectly adequate moments to use it:
– the guy on the beach trying to sell you sunglasses when you already have a pair on your face
– directed towards all mosquitos in the world
– the cat that keeps whipping my face with it’s tail (I’m allergic to cats)
Meaning: Flap your arms around maniacally
i.e: To let one’s hair down
Simply put: relax a little
Perfectly adequate moments to use it:
The moment a wasp lands on your picnic
Running out of water when seaweed touches your toe
Drinking too much at the work’s Christmas party
Meaning: To be daydreaming
i.e: Not paying attention or have crazy unrealistic ideas
Simply put: have the attention span of a fruit fly or the expectations of a Disney princess
Perfectly adequate moments to use it:
– Any of the 10,000 times you think about life in the Maldives during the workday
– Your partner says you will never buy a dog (I most certainly will)
– You think one day you might pay off your student loan
Meaning: Pay for someone else’s mistake
i.e: You take the blame for something you didn’t do
Simply put: Not stand up for yourself
Perfectly adequate moments to use it:
– someone breaks the photocopier, but you are the one seen (attempting) to use it last
– grabbing the petrol pump already covered in oil which goes all over your shiny work attire
– being the last to pay your part of the joint bill and paying much higher than you ever could have possibly consumed.
Exactly when a person creates an entire drama show out of a situation that is really as insignificant as a cup of water. In Portuguese, “fazer uma tempestade em copo d’água.”
