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Como dizer "folgado" em
inglês?
10/25/10
This is really a tricky
question, and many English students and teachers as
well, keep asking LEP how to say "folgado"
in
English!
In the US people have a
hard time understanding the Brazilian conotation
of folgado, when used as a slang. It
doesn't mean that there aren't "pessoas
folgadas" in the States! There are, and many! It's
just that the language changes slower than the
culture
does.
It's the same "cultural vs.
language" aspect we see in the Nut
about the slang "ficar"
in Portuguese ("ficar" meaning "necking,
"making out"). It's not that American teenagers don't do
it - teenagers and older do neck, of course! Culturally
speaking, the thing exists (although, it may
be a relatively recent phenomenon in the US, if
compared to the way it happens in Brazil), but when we
talk about language development, the names (both
for "folgado" and "ficar") aren't yet so
"expressive" as we could say they are in
Portuguese! Am I biased?
eheheh
Anyway, lacking a single,
picturesque, robust word like "folgado", here is what
we use in
place:
My co-worker uses
my desk once in a while and never leaves it organized
because he knows I'll do it later anyway. He
is such a slack / a bum/ a loafer / an idler /
lazy /an
opportunist.
Tourists some
times can be real slacks: they come to town and
create noise, garbage, heavy traffic, crowds, and they
go away showing no respect for the local people.
Slack, bum, and
loafer are slangs
for slow and lazy people; pessoas que não se esforçam
para conseguir o melhor e, sem merecimento, querem
extrair os benefícios dos outros. Pessoas que não
respeitam os direitos e motivos alheios, porque acham
que tudo gira em torno só de si próprio. Pessoas que
não contribuem e não são
apreciativas.
Idler, lazy, and opportunist are not
slangs, and mean the same as
above.
An idler
is "ocioso". A loiterer
is that person que fica zanzando, o
típico
vagabundo.
The
opportunist can be less lazy
and idler than the loafer/bum/slack. But he still likes
to take advantage of everything, even if that means
stepping on someone's toe. He also thinks the world
spins around himself.
The
typical "folgado", indeed. Don't you
think?
Se o folgado for o da pior
espécie, existem alguns nomes mais "low
level":
sponge
=
who exploits, lives at the expense of
others;
leech
[lɪːtʃ]
(which is a
bloodsucking worm); person who clings to another
without giving anything in return;
parasite.
I
don't know how Anna can put up with Henry. He
takes everything from her: love, money, energy, time...
And now that he has moved in, he doesn't even
help her with the expenses! He is a
real leech/sponge
and she is not
seeing it!
Wow! Let's stay away from
Henry!
We also
call "chupim" (in Portuguese) types like
Henry, don't
we?
"A folga é, para os mais preguiçosos,
a maneira para não ficar no aperto."
Henry
Chupim
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