dar um jeito
Meaning: Find a creative solution or workaround, often bending rules pragmatically.
Language: Portuguese
Literally: to give a way/trick
Category: Daily Life
Origin: "Jeito" traces to Latin jactus, from the verb jacere, to throw or fling — its original sense in Portuguese was closer to "a way of moving one's body" or "a particular manner of doing something." That underlying sense of active, physical launching toward a goal survives directly in the modern idiom: "dar um jeito" describes not passively waiting for the ideal solution to present itself, but actively throwing yourself at whatever workable option is available right now, with whatever limited resources and time you actually have. The phrase underlies the broader, more culturally loaded jeitinho brasileiro — a distinctly Brazilian reputation for improvised, flexible problem-solving that gets formally documented in sociological writing from 1982 onward, though the underlying instinct for practical improvisation is understood to run through Brazilian culture well before that academic label was ever applied to it.
More idioms — Daily Life
- رمى بنفسه في التهلكة (ramā bi-nafsihi fī at-tahluka) — Someone deliberately puts themselves in danger or a hopeless situation through recklessne…
- 傍若無人 (Bōjaku-bujin) — Behaving without regard for others' feelings or presence around you.
- 一期一会 (Ichi-go ichi-e) — Treasure each encounter as unique and irreplaceable in life.
- beat around the bush — to avoid addressing the main point; to speak indirectly.
- pull your punches — to hold back; to be less forceful than you could be.
- stick your oar in — to interfere in someone else's affairs; to meddle.
More Portuguese idioms
- estar com a corda no pescoço — Be in serious financial or personal trouble with no easy escape.
- meter os pés pelas mãos — Make a clumsy mistake or bungle something badly through carelessness.
- estar com água na boca — Feel eager anticipation or desire, especially for food or something pleasant.
- Viajar na maionese — To talk nonsense or drift off into your own dream world.
- Chutar o balde — To stop caring and let everything go — unlike the English, nobody dies.
- Enfiar o pé na jaca — To overdo it wildly, especially with food or drink.
From our tongue twisters
- A aranha arranha a rã. A rã arranha a aranha. — Contrasts the soft single r of aranha against the hard rolled rr of arranha — one letter…
- O rato roeu a roupa do rei de Roma; a rainha com raiva roeu o resto. — An unstoppable 'r' trill drill — every key word begins or ends with the Portuguese r.
- Um tigre, dois tigres, três tigres tristes triscam trigo num trigal. — A 'tr' cluster drill that adds a sad adjective to make the alliteration worse.