CONVERSA PRA BOI DORMIR

Did you miss me, dear foreign? I sure missed you, I was kinda used to having your company here everyday, and this is not a talk to ox to sleep.

That’s right! I’m back, and so is the farm-animal-usage-to-make-an-expression-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-it! And it’s the cow’s family again!

Although “conversa pra boi dormir” (also seen as “história pra boi dormir”) has a literal translation as “talk to ox to sleep” (or “story for ox to sleep”), it has nothing to do with the ox. Or the sleep. It actually means bullshit, a tall tale, hot air, something that someone’s telling you in order to fool you, for whatever reason. Just like the “no feet no head” story we saw before, but this one is more deceiving than an excuse, and it’s usually not as crazy as that one.

And as we learn, Brazilian folks are not the only ones with intriguing expressions – Mr. Fiancé now got into American sayings, I might have to start a blog about those too. There is an expression in English for “conversa pra boi dormir”: cock-and-bull story.

Now, I’m sure very few of the cock-and-bull stories are actually about cocks and bulls, am I right?!

The Brazilian expression has no official origin, some claim it had something to do with the high importance the ox had in a livestock environment, but I can’t see how we went from that to cattle bedtime stories, but who knows?!

But even with and uncertain origin, the expression became very popular, and even ended up in several songs.

And “conversa pra boi dormir” is not alone! Several other expressions – that also don’t mean their literal meaning – encapsulate the full of shit sense of a talk to ox to sleep:

– “conversa mole”: soft talk;

– “conversa fiada”: spun talk (spun like in yarn spinning);

– “lero-lero”: Couldn’t even get something out of this one;

– “conversa esfarrapada”: ragged talk.

So, dear foreign, I promise you it’s not a talk to ox to sleep that I really missed our project and it feels great to be back! Hope I see you soon again.

Till then,

expressionada.