Posts tagged with "phrase"

Putz Grila!

Posted by Rachel 4 Comments
Dec 28 2010

One of the best ways to speak like a native is to pepper your speech with colloquial phrases and slang, which is why we’ve been focusing on these expressions lately.

Awhile back, we learned about some exclamations, including putz.  This word means oh no! or darn it! or uh oh! and is used as an expression of annoyance.

Likewise, the expression putz grila! has the same use. It can express surprise, annoyance, disappointment, impatience or shock.

I wasn’t able to figure out exactly where this phrase came from, but supposedly it emerged in the 1970s as a hippie expression.

Let’s look at some examples.

Putz grila! Esqueci minhas chaves. Oh no! I forgot my keys.

O voo foi cancelado? Putz grila! The flight was canceled? Darn it!

Mãe, você está vindo agora? Não estou pronto ainda. Putz grila! Mom, you’re coming over now? I’m not ready yet. Uh oh!

Putz grila…eles perderam o jogo. Darn it…they lost the game.

Can you think of any other examples?

Para Variar

Posted by Rachel 4 Comments
Dec 20 2010

There’s an interesting slangy expression in Portuguese that is used to express sarcasm, and it’s a helpful one to know to throw into conversation to sound more like a native. Let’s take a look at how it’s used.

Para variar literally means “for a change,” but when used in conversation, it actually means the opposite. It’s a way to show annoyance with something that is actually the same, and the fact that it is still the same is irritating. In translation, it’s a little tricky, so you just have to take “for a change” as being completely sarcastic.

Here are some examples:

Estou em Londres! Está chovendo, para variar. I’m in London! It’s raining, for a change.

Ela está atrasada. O trânsito está muito ruim, para variar. She’s late. Traffic’s bad for a change.

Estamos satisfeitos. Comemos muito para variar. We’re full. We ate a lot for a change.

Enquanto estava na rua, meus pais ligaram dez vezes para variar. While I was out, my parents called ten times, for a change.

A praia está cheia, para variar. The beach is crowded, for a change.

Can you think of any other examples?

Tudo acaba em pizza

Posted by Rachel No Comments
Sep 18 2009

Today, we’re going to learn a handy phrase: tudo acaba em pizza.

A rough English equivalent would be “All’s well that ends well,” though it means that no matter how good or how bad something may go, everything works out in the end and goes back to the way things were. Keep in mind that this may not mean that everything works out for everyone involved (see the third example), but means that things end up back to normal.

This expression has a very interesting history. Initially, the expression was tudo acaba em samba. But that changed in the 1960s. There was a political dispute in the city of Palmeiras, and the journalist who covered the scandal went to Palmeiras to try to make peace and work things out. Both sides wound up conciliating at a pizza restaurant and making peace over pizza. Thus emerged the new expression, which was first used to refer to political scandals and accusations, but is now used for any circumstance.

Examples:

Briguei com a minha namorada, mas como tudo acaba em pizza, nós ficamos bem. I got in a fight with my girlfriend but all’s well that ends well, and we’re now we’re ok.

Mas nem tudo acaba em pizza para eles; foram para a cadeia. But it doesn’t always work out for them; they went to jail.

Já que tudo acaba em pizza, o político corrupto ainda está no poder. But since things work out in the end [for him], the corrupt politician is still in power.

Now it’s your turn. Leave a few sentences of your own to see if you’ve figured out how to use this phrase properly!

Back to the Top