20 Illustrated Brazilian Expressions to Get You Going Around Talking for Your Elbows

The main purpose of language is communication, but it is the way we use it that can give intensity, beauty, humour, poetry and brilliance to what we want to say. Do you want “a helping hand” to understand? Check out this post that is a “hand on the wheel”!

O awesome.club illustrated the most common idiomatic expressions of the Portuguese language and explained each one of them, come and see!

Sometimes two hands can be too little. The meaning of this expression shows this well. When we ask or offer a hand, we are offering to help another person, adding our hand to theirs.

Help, auxiliary. Example: “I never forgot who, when I was in need, gave a helping hand🇧🇷

Due to the dynamism present in the language, it is difficult to be sure of the origin of some expressions. For the expression “break a branch” it is perfectly possible to think about branches that obstruct a path, for example, and breaking them would make it easier to advance along a road. But, that is not exactly what history tells us. One of the possible origins of this expression indicates that the “branch” is a river that makes up a watershed, and “breaking the branch” would be like creating a shortcut to get to the main river. The other, in reference to religions of African origin, brings the figure of Exu Quebra-Galho, who would be responsible for separating and uniting couples.

Help, do a favor, improvise to resolve a situation. Example: “Since our television is being repaired, we will use Grandma’s to break a branch🇧🇷

From the expression, it is believed that, in the past, as the means of transport relied on animal traction and the roads did not have paving, when they got stuck, nothing better than a “hand on the wheel” to solve the problem.

Important help, very useful. Example: “The application is a hand on the wheel for those who need to study at home”.

This is an expression with an uncertain origin, and we understand, since the world began, that people have physiological needs. But there are some explanations, the first states that it is just a euphemism, an expression to ease the act of urinating. Another, from the end of the 19th century, refers to the creation of urinals in Rio de Janeiro, which, depending on the perspective, gave the impression that the person was “drawing water from the knee”, and let’s face it, if we think about the expression literally, it’s pretty funny.

Urinate. Example: “Could you wait for me a little bit? I go there take water off your knee and let’s go”.

Now for some bombshell information. Did you know that the original expression is not “put your foot in the jackfruit” but “put your foot in the jackfruit”? Believe me, not us! The expression refers to a time when bars had, at the entrance, woven baskets of vine, the jacás, with fruits and vegetables displayed at the entrance. When the person committed exaggerations involving the drink, it was said that they put their foot in the jacá. For the sake of sonority, and the almost non-existence of said basket in current times, “put your foot in the jackfruit” fell in favor of Portuguese speakers. Informally, there is even the verb jacar.

To commit an excess, an exaggeration. Example: “Monday I go back to the diet, Saturday I put my foot in the jackfruit🇧🇷

The origin of the expression is probably due to the appearance of the pineapple, which is dry and with thorns, and the fact that it was relatively difficult to peel it without pricking yourself or hurting your hands on its crown.

Solve a difficult problem. Example: “I can only rest after peel the pineapple which is the balance sheet of this company”.

Languages ​​have particular mechanisms that give the tonalities of their use according to our knowledge. For Portuguese speakers, “problema” is a very broad word, and the attempt in this case is to visually illustrate a generic word. For this, we use “solve a cucumber”.

Solve a problem. Example: “I think that in half an hour playing on the computer I can solve this cucumber🇧🇷

Fun fact: we used cucumber and pineapple as a reference to problems because, in the past, pineapple was difficult to peel and cucumber was difficult to digest.

The expression “swallowing a frog” is likely to be very old, and historians believe that it arose from the Old Testament texts of the Bible, which speak of the Plagues of Egypt and the infestation, at the time of the prophet Moses, by frogs and other frogs. batrachians (amphibians). It is said that there were so many of them that even eating or opening their mouths was difficult without “swallowing frogs”. Another possible explanation is the one that speaks of frogs as essential in witchcraft, making an allusion to occult forces. Either way, it looks pretty gooey and nasty.

Listening to things you disagree with without fighting back. Example: “… I’m not even here to swallow a frog, I want a solution”.

Dropping the ball has an uncertain origin and is apparently not biblical or mythological. Apparently, it has to do exactly with the activity of running or walking, encountering the ball, tripping or perhaps falling and, therefore, disappointing, or not doing what was agreed.

Make a mistake, disappoint someone. Example: “I went wrong, I screwed up, I traded the one I loved most for an illusion”.

The origin of the expression “chair tea” dates back to the time of Brazil’s independence. It was one of the great and not so subtle differentials and distances inserted between the nobles and their subjects. Talking to Senhor Fulano, or Senhor Beltrano, even if there was no setback, was a mission that could take hours in the waiting room. At that time, tea was served to pass the time, which began to be called chair tea.

Expect something for a long time. Example: “You drinking your chair tea, remembering the stupid thing you did before São João”.

The origin of this expression dates back to the 19th century, when the most common means of transport was still the horse. At that time, when a person arrived at someone else’s house, it was already possible to know if the intention was to pay a quick visit, or if the conversation would extend a little longer. If the visitor was thinking of leaving soon, he would leave the horse in front of the house. If it was going to take time, I would put the animal in a place sheltered from the sun or rain. What could happen was that the host enjoyed the visit and did not want the visitor to leave so soon, thus suggesting that he “take the horse out of the rain”, as it would take longer. The expression became popular and is now widely used.

The expression kicking the bucket has two studied and possible origins, one of which refers to hanging, when the executioners kicked the bucket or other object in order to “take the floor” of the convict and leave him suspended. The other is about the dissatisfaction of the cows at the time of milking, when they kicked the bucket.

Giving up something, in this case, driven by anger. Example: “Today does not pass, I will kick the bucket and resign!”

The origin, perhaps, takes us back to the image above. Usually a person who usually talks a lot and with ease, also gestures widely, giving the impression that in addition to speaking with his mouth, and expressing himself with his hands, he also speaks through his elbows (which to make matters worse, there are two!).

Speak a lot. Example: “I get dizzy with my mother, the old speaks for the elbows🇧🇷

Having or having a knife and cheese in your hand means having all the tools and elements necessary to resolve a situation. What is missing, in this case, is the individual’s attitude towards it.

Having the power to decide or resolve a situation. Example: “He didn’t earn money because he didn’t want to, because I had the knife and the cheese in my hand🇧🇷

The possible origin of the expression “beat the boots” may be a reference to the war in Paraguay, when, when hit, the fighters fell, hitting one boot on the other. Or it could also indicate the lack of familiarity with clothes and weapons that may have occurred during the invasion of the Dutch in Brazil, a fact that put local fighters in a vulnerable position, since they “kicked their boots” and became easy targets for be slaughtered.

To die. Example: “Father, the cardinal kicked the bucket🇧🇷

There are no studies capable of assuring the origin of the expression “suitcase without a handle”, however, it is possible to infer that it is exactly the metaphor of a suitcase, precisely, without a handle. When it has the handle, it can be easy to carry, practical, which makes people’s life easier. Imagine yourself in the following situation: a crowded airport or crowded bus station and you have a huge, heavy suitcase, full of things you need to take, but it doesn’t have… a handle. This makes the task difficult, it seems to add weight and cause discomfort. The same thing happens to a person who is a suitcase without a handle. The expression has already gained variations and graduations, the person can be just a “suitcase” or “a suitcase without a handle and without wheels”.

To be boring, tiring. Example: “I can’t stand my neighbor, she’s a suitcase without a handle🇧🇷

You won’t believe this, but looking for fur on an egg is pretty much the same thing as looking for a horn on a horse’s head. It is also a metaphor to justify, or rather explain, the situation of looking for things that do not exist, that are pointless.

Look for things that don’t exist. Example: “Repeating the ultrasound for the third time is already look for the egg🇧🇷

Another figurative and self-explanatory expression. Eggs are known for their fragile shell. Now let’s imagine walking on them, stepping on their shells. The work will be enormous, because it will take a lot of calm and caution, a lot of cunning.

Act carefully, very cautiously. Example: “My sister is so suspicious, I have to be with her all the time. walking on eggshellsI never know what to say”.

Some scholars claim that the expression “stuffing sausage” originates from the time when only the wealthiest people could afford to eat fresh meat and, therefore, put the fat and everything that was rejected to serve as stuffing for pig intestines, or to “stuff sausage”. The expression serves to define people who mess up, whether in texts or conversations, putting words or unimportant subjects to gain time or space on the page.

Rolling around, stuffing, filling a void with insignificant, vague things. Example: “In the 35 lines of the essay, only 20 were on relevant subjects, the rest were just for fill sausage🇧🇷

This expression is said to have its origins in the fable The Peasant…