Sep 18

The typical phrases of Braga – part II

As we already showed, Braga and its people have a fertile imagination when it comes to create country’ sayings and idiomatic expressions that only people from the region understand.

We leave here some expressions that only a person from Braga (or from the Northern Portugal) will understand.

See also: “Are you from Braga?” – the typical phrases of Braga

 

  1. “Go below Braga” (“Vai abaixo de Braga!”)

This phrase does not mean anything good. If you heard it and did not get it, maybe it has been for the best. When people from Braga tell you to go below the city, they are not telling you to go to any nice place – on the contrary.

Campo das Hortas is located on a lower level than the rest of historical center and, in the old days, it was out of the city walls. Since it was in the end of the downhill, the wastes and residual waters of Braga went precisely to Campo das Hortas.

So, if you are told to “go below Braga”, well you now know what they mean…

 

  1. “It tasted like duck” (“Soube-me a pato”)

This phrase, unlike the previous one, expresses a pretty nice situation. When you hear someone say that something “tasted like duck”, you don’t need to wonder if something is not right.

“Tasting like duck” only refers to an episode in which you have eaten a meal without paying for it, which is always quite nice, don’t you agree?

 

  1. “Estou barado/a!”

“Estou barado/a” (or more accurately varado/a) does not necessarily come up on unpleasant situations. If you have heard it, you must have realized it’s spoken in conversations or episodes that, for some reason, cause surprise or admiration.

Being “barado/a” (like you say it in Northerners way) means, plain and simple, that we are amazed and/or astonished about something.

Therefore, if you hear people from Braga saying “estou barado/a da minha vida”, you now will understand that they are really, really surprised about something.

 

  1. “I made the dove” (“Fiz a pomba”)

Among the four expressions on this article, this one is perhaps the one that expresses the happiest situation.

When people from Braga tell you, with a big smile on their faces, that they “made the dove”, they mean that they were able to win a considerable amount of money, in a fast and easy way, without any big efforts.

As such, “making the dove” refers to situations like finding money lost on the street or winning the lottery. We wish we had motifs to say we “made the dove”, don’t you think?