Portuguesepôr os pontos nos is
Meaning: To clarify a matter by spelling out details explicitly.
Literally: To put the dots on the i's
Example: “Antes de assinar, vamos pôr os pontos nos is sobre o pagamento.” — Before signing, let's dot the i's and cross the t's on the payment.
English equivalent: To dot the i's and cross the t's
Equivalents in other languages
English: dot the i's and cross the t's
Origin: From handwriting: in medieval scripts the letter i was a single short stroke, easily confused with the strokes of u, m and n, so scribes added a mark above it. Putting the dots on the i's is making everything clear and leaving no room for misreading. French has the same phrase, mettre les points sur les i, and Brazil usually says pôr os pingos nos is.
More Portuguese idioms
- Matar dois coelhos com uma cajadada só To get two benefits from a single effort.
- Diz o roto ao nu: porque não te vestes tu? Said when someone criticizes another for a fault they share.
- Engolir sapos To put up with unpleasant things without complaining.
- Pagar o pato To take the blame for something you didn't do.
- Descascar o abacaxi To solve a very difficult, thorny problem.
- Empurrar com a barriga To procrastinate; to keep delaying something.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring