Pisar na bola

Meaning: To mess up or let someone down.

Language: Portuguese

Literally: To step on the ball

Category: Daily Life

Origin: From football-mad Brazil, where a player treading on the ball stumbles and blows the play.

More idioms — Daily Life

• 바가지를 쓰다 — To be overcharged; to get ripped off.
• 비행기를 태우다 — To flatter someone over the top.
• Pabucu dama atılmak — To fall out of favor and be cast aside.
• Être dans de beaux draps — To be in a real mess.
• Tirer le diable par la queue — To struggle to make ends meet.
• Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs — To do things in the wrong order.

More Portuguese idioms

• 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.
• Procurar pelo em ovo — To nitpick over nothing.
• Ficar a ver navios — To be left disappointed and empty-handed.

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