22. QUEBRAR UM GALHO

This one is one of the immortals! It’s said by an unknown number of Brazilian folks since an uncertain moment in history and it seems that it will keep going infinitely with the Portuguese language existence.

The literal meaning of “quebrar um galho” is “to break a branch”, and, obviously, it’s not what it actually means.

There are lots of theories about how this one became an expression. Some say that “branch” is also what you call a river from a watershed, being a shortcut to the main river. Others tell a story about a deity of one of the African-Brazilian religions that was called “Exu Quebra-Galho” and was known for bringing the loved woman back.

In any case, the current use of it is to give a help, to do a favour for someone (usually a friend) in a moment of need. It could also mean to make something in an improvised way until more permanent measures are taken.

Let’s take an example: a few years ago (not gonna tell how many, these things get tricky when you get closer to the 30’s), back when I was at college – read: poorer than ever –, I was moving from this little house to an apartment. I had no money to hire someone to move all my stuff, and unfortunately U-Haul is not really a thing around here. Add that to the absence of a vehicle – I don’t drive – and that was kind of a pickle. Now, it’s customary around here to ask a friend to help you out with that mission. Not to be surprised if someday you’ll be asked to return the favour. So, following the protocol, I called one of my college friends back then, and asked him to “quebrar um galho” for me. Five minutes later his car parked at my gate. That was a well-broken branch!

The expression was so popular that a term came out of it: “quebra-galho”, “branch-breaker”, the person who is known for helping out with any kind of troubled situation. Also the person in the company with no job description, and has any pickle-solving as their job, known by the name of “pau pra toda obra”, “stick to every construction”, Jack of all trades.

Now, dear foreign, would you break a branch for me and come back to check new expressions every day?

Till tomorrow,

expressionada