VOCABULARY: Você sabe adiantar e atrasar o relógio?

Here in Brazil, during Daylight Saving Time, we need to put our clocks forward an hour. When we return to Standard Time, we need to put back our clocks an hour.

Se você deseja ter mais informações sobre o assunto, vai aqui um web site que provê bastante vocabulário a respeito: moving the clocks.

An entry regarding this subject is in the Cambridge Online dictionary, here.

E o Daylight Saving Time? É o Horário de Verão...

Caso ainda não saiba, o Brasil possui 3 fusos, ou seja, 3 horas diferentes. No horário normal (horário de Brasília), nós temos, por exemplo, 1 hora a menos no Amazonas, e 2 horas a menos lá no Acre. Quando entramos no horário de verão, em São Paulo por exemplo (horário de Brasília), esta diferença aumenta em 1 unidade.

Catch you later!

VOCABULARY: Catraca

Que complicado... nós andamos de ônibus, de trem, de metrô, ou em certos lugares públicos, etc. e sempre nos deparamos com algo comum no nosso dia-a-dia, a catraca. Aposto que muitos não sabem como mencioná-la em Inglês, assim como eu também não sabia, então aqui vai:

Turnstile

A mechanical gate consisting of revolving horizontal arms fixed to a vertical post, allowing only one person at a time to pass through.

Praça da Sé subway station has lots of turnstiles, given the high number of people daily entering and leaving the station.

VOCABULARY: Bode espiatório

Ser aquele que sempre leva a culpa, que muita vezes já se sabe ser dos outros.

Such a person is blamed for wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others. In English, such as person is a scapegoat.

See ya!

Esta sala é mó AUÊ

Esta postagem eu dedico para a Simone, ex-companheira de sala, que uma vez usou esta frase quando estávamos conversando e então me veio a pergunta: "Como dizer auê em Inglês?" Na ocasião, ficamos sem resposta...

Eu não me lembro agora como encontrei, mas a palavra surgiu em meu caminho e ele merece uma postagem aqui:

Hullabaloo

Estranho? Pois é, eu acredito que tão estranha quanto auê seria para alguém que está aprendendo Português. É uma palavra informal e tem como sinônimo, commotion, ou então, bem comumente visto por aí, fuss.

Valew Simone!

Everlasting VS Never-ending

Well, those expressions mean exactly the same thing, when it comes to describing something whose end is unforeseen, cannot be anticipated. Nevertheless, there is a subtle difference that may not be clear to the foreign speakers of English.

We can say everlasting love (there's a song named so), but when love turns into suffering, we may undergo a never-ending pain.

The conclusion we can draw upon it is that, never-ending is a phrase commonly used to denote something unpleasant, that does not seem to have an end.

A special note to the word eternal, that of broader meaning, describes something whose both beginning and end are unknown, lasting or existing forever.

VOCABULARY: Até que a morte os separe

Yesterday, when I was watching Chojin Sentain Jetman, one of the Tokusatsus Super Sentai series out there, there was an ongoing marriage ceremony, in which the bride was asked:

"Do you take this man as your husband till death do you part?"

So was the man:

"Do you take this woman as your wife till death do you part?"

The woman heard "yes", but the man was not that fortunate, since she could eventually realize his true personality, something that she had learned to dislike profoundly. Poor guy :D

See ya!

VOCABULARY: Thai Forces Move on Protesters as Tension Grows

After reading an article in The New York Times, I made up my mind to highlight the interesting words I came across, which added value to my vocabulary:

The article is: Thai Forces Move on Protesters as Tension Grows

VOCABULARY:

• Strained smile => A strained smile is the one in which you clearly demonstrate you are deliberate effort rather than natural impulse, artificial or forced; a strained voice indicates ("sorriso forçado")
• Slingshot => A forked stick, to which an elastic strap (or a pair of elastic bands connected by a small sling) is fastened to the two prongs, typically used for shooting small stones ("estilingue")
• Nil => A synonym for zero, especially as a score in certain games ("zero")
• To be on life support => Maintenance of the vital functions of a critically ill person, or someone undergoing a surgery, by utilizing feeding tubes, heart/lung bypass, dialysis, defibrillation, among others ("viver com a ajuda de aparelhos")
• Razor wire => A metal wire or ribbon with sharp edges or studded with small sharp blades, used as a barrier ("arame farpado")
• Noose / The noose => Noose is the object used to hang people or animals, such as in execution penalties where people are hung, undergoing in the noose ("Corda da forca / a forca em si"). The expression the noose can be also used to describe a difficult situation regarded as a restraint or bond.

Ending with a note about the text, it is a petty to see the factual turmoil in Thailand. People are dying and insecurity is all around. Despite that, one slight good point, maybe not conducted the best way, which is the citizens' reaction to unapproved government actions, as well as in France. The nation is not passive and subjected to anything posed to them, unlike Brazil, where the vast majority is passive. In other countries, nations react at all costs.

Regards!