Are You Really Going to Make Me Write It Like This, Português em Foco? 😡
Category: English
Vir à Baila
After sniffing the “Erva-de-namorar” mentioned in yesterday’s post, the narrator says that whenever boys discussed girls who might be up for a bit of whatever the rural, early twentieth century portuguese equivalent of rumpy-pumpy might be, her name “vinha à baila”.
I could guess the meaning from the context, but to break it down, baila is a mention, or something that is to be talked about, and vir à baila is an expression meaning to come up for discussion.
Baila is a bit deceptive in that it looks like it ought to be something to do with bailar (which is a synonym of dançar) and baile (ball, but the kind of ball Cinderela goes to, not the kind Ronaldoella kicks around a field). Whether or not the two words were linked together at some point in the past, I’m not sure, but they don’t even share a priberam page now, so they’re not seen as part of the same family of words, as far as I can see.
This Made Me Chuckle
It’s funny because it’s true
Flilping Hlelck
⚠️I originally scheduled this post for a bit closer to the date but I’ve just noticed the free tickets are only available till tomorrow so I’ve bumped it up the running order a bit!⚠️
Fellow book readers in and around London might be interested to check out this literary fair being held on the 31st of May. It’s aiming to cultivate literature in portuguese in the UK. Note, I didn’t say portuguese literature, but literature in portuguese, so a couple of the people on the panel discussions are portuguese but there’s an angolano, a moçambicano and half a dozen brasileiras… Um… Yes, I think I got the word ending right there, I’m pretty sure all the Brazilian reps are women so no 20p fine for me!
It’s on a Friday and I can’t afford to take a whole day off, but I’ve booked a (free!) ticket for the afternoon, and it looks like they have some interesting sessions planned.
Anyway, if that sounds interesting, here’s their Instagram so you can find out more, and the event subscription page is on Eventbrite here.
👀
“E Depois do Adeus” has appeared on Lingoclip, I see! It’s nice and slow so should be easy, but I’ve still made a few mistakes on the second hardest level.
Setôra
I mentioned the word “Stôra” a few months ago, and I’ve just seen another version of it: “Setôra”, in a book by Alice Vieira. Senhora + Doutora =Setôra. Such an odd-looking word to use to refer to your teacher!
TFW You Get The Joke
One of the best feelings in the world is getting a joke in portuguese that requires not only a decent grasp of the language but also a bit of background knowledge, so I made a little happy/smug face when I saw this joke from Hugo Van der Ding
Bazar is obviously a noun in the shop sign because Bazar can mean the same as the English word Bazaar. Well they’re probably both derived from Arabic aren’t they? No, Google says Persian. Anyway, so this is the Carmo Bazaar. Fine. But bazar can also mean something like go away very quickly. So it’s something like “skeddaddle” or “get lost” or “buzz off”.
So Marcelo Caetano, the guy who took over from Salazar as dictator after he had an argument with a chair, was holed up in o Quartel do Carmo, headquarters of the Guarda Nacional Repúblicana and after a tense stand off he was made to surrender to General Spinola and then told to push off into exile. It’s a solid pun and I approve.
Newsprint Time Machine
The Guardian has republished its archive story from 50 years ago about the revolution. It’s pretty thorough and covers the background to the revolution, the main players and some of the more dramatic events, like the incident where the tank commander orders his men to fire on the rebels but they refuse. It’s a tense moment in the movie Capitães de Abril, but I was never sure if it was real or an embellishment.
A Commercial Break: Books and Where to Read Them
I mention books on here a lot. Wook have what looks like a pretty generous sale to celebrate the anniversary of the revolution so if you want to have someone fill a box with literature and have it shipped across the sea, this is probably a good way to do it.
They say books can bring down dictatorships, but so can other inanimate objects, so if you need somewhere to read your book, you could always buy the most effective weapon against dictatorships Portugal has yet devised: a chair. They look great don’t they? I’m a bit intimidated by the lack of a price though. I’d like one but I feel like it might be one of those “If you have to ask how much it is, you can’t afford it” situations.
What do chairs have to do with dictatorships? Um… well, nothing really, I’m just being daft, but Salazar died in 1970 after being incapacitated for two years because he’d fallen out of a chair, so if you are looking for an excuse to buy a new chair, there’s your excuse. It’s to show your support for Democracy!
Oh my god, that’s two posts in a row in english. I’d better get my act together
The Big 5-0
We’re approaching the fiftieth anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which falls on this coming Thursday and I’ve got a couple of ideas for related blog posts. I’m not sure how many I’ll get through, but it’ll be nice to have a challenge!
I’ve written a few posts about the revolution in the past of course. For example, here’s one about The most influential Eurovision song ever, but there’s a lot to write about.
Anyway, before I start, please enjoy this very lovely instagram post from a portuguese creator I follow on Instagram. I have a few of her products at home, and I am not surprised this one sold out so quickly on t-shirts and tote bags. Limited print run: you snooze, you lose!
Luso 