PortugueseChutar o balde
Meaning: To stop caring and let everything go — unlike the English, nobody dies.
Literally: To kick the bucket
Example: “Depois de dez anos de horas extras, ela chutou o balde e foi viver na praia.” — After ten years of overtime, she threw in the towel and went to live by the beach.
English equivalent: To throw in the towel
Origin: In Brazil, kicking the bucket means giving up on something and letting it all go, not dying as in English. Its origin is not documented. Brazilian sources usually borrow the English explanations, a condemned man kicking away the bucket he stood on, or pigs hung from a beam in the slaughterhouse, which do not fit the Brazilian sense; the picture of a milker kicking over a full pail has no source either.
Equivalents in other languages
English: throw in the towel
Swedish: Att kasta yxan i sjön Literally: To throw the axe in the lake
Czech: Házet flintu do žita Literally: To throw the rifle into the rye
Icelandic: Að leggja árar í bát Literally: To lay the oars in the boat
French: Baisser pavillon Literally: To lower the pavilion- French: Jeter l'éponge Literally: To throw the sponge
- French: Mettre pavillon bas Literally: To lower the flag
More Portuguese idioms
- Enfiar o pé na jaca To overdo it wildly, especially with food or drink.
- Pisar na bola To mess up or let someone down.
- Encher linguiça To pad something out with filler to take up space or time.
- Nem que a vaca tussa No way; under no circumstances.
- Tirar o cavalo da chuva To give up on an expectation.
- Pagar mico To embarrass yourself publicly.
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- És uma joia You're a gem — a precious, lovely person.
- Cabeça de alho chocho A forgetful scatterbrain whose thoughts won't stay put.
- Você é um amor You're a sweetheart — warm, caring, and impossible not to like.
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