From New Routes Magazine (several editions)
A gota d´água – The last straw
When Fred showed up late for work again, his boss told him that it was the last straw and would have to fire him.
A saideira – One for the road
“Let’s have one for the road”, Jack told his friends in the pub.
Amarelar – To chicken out
I was going to go bungee jumping, but I chickened out.
Bajular alguém – To butter up
You’ll have to butter them up a bit before they’ll agree.
Boca livre - Free grub
Too bad you didn’t show up last night. You missed the free grub!
Cair aos pedaços - Fall apart
My poor old boots are falling apart.
Cair na conversa de alguém - Fall for
She always falls for unsuitable men.
Colocar alguém a par de alguma coisa – Fill in on
I filled her in on the latest gossip.
Colocar o sono em dia – Catch up on
Sorry, I can’t go out tonight. I need to catch up on my sleep.
Dar bronca - Tell off
The teacher told me off for swearing.
Dar um pulo na casa de alguém – Drop by, drop in on
Drop by and pick up that book sometime.
Dar para trás, cair fora - Back out
You agreed to come. You can't back out now!
Descontar irritação em alguém – Take out on
I know you’ve had a bad day, but there’s no need to take it out on me!
Desembucha! Fala logo! – Shoot!
Don´t just stand there. If you have something to tell me, shoot!
Estar a fim de alguém – To have a crush
She has a crush on one of her teachers at school.
Fazer as pazes – To make up
They kissed and made up, as usual.
Não dar em nada, fracassar – To fall through
We found a buyer for the house, but then the sale fell through.
Não ver a hora, aguardar ansiosamente – To look forward to
I’m really looking forward to my holiday.
Pegar no pé, implicar – To pick on
Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?
Pisar na bola – To screw up
I reckon I screwed the chemistry exam up totally.
Pular a cerca, trair - To fool around with
She’d been fooling around with someone at work.
“Puxar” alguém da família – To take after
He takes after his mother.
Sair de fininho – To sneak away
I managed to sneak away through the back door while she wasn’t looking.
Sair correndo, sair voando - To take off
When he saw me, he took off in the other direction.
Valer a pena, compensar – To pay off
All her hard word paid off in the end, and she finally passed her exam.
Zombar, caçoar de alguém – To pull someone’s leg
Are you pulling my leg?
