Catchword: desenrascanço

Filed Under: Portuguese, Portugal, Slang

Part of Speech: n.

Quotation: “Desenrascanço” (you read that ‘the-zen-rascan-so’) is simply a slang word for the slacker art of coming up with some last-minute solution for a problem—and as a rule the solution will end up doing more harm than simply avoiding the problem (unless avoiding the problem is exactly that last-minute solution—a very common scenario). What I don’t get is the article’s connection between “desenrascanço” and those fake academic “traditions” which consist in the ritual bullying of freshmen. Unfortunately “desenrascanço” has far greater scope, and it is a true defining quality of being Portuguese—even perhaps what separates us from the Spanish.

Article or Document Title:
“Glossy black plastic toys” (URL)

Author:
Eduardo J. Sousa

Article, Document, Publication, Web Site:
If Then Else

Publishing Location:
Porto, Portugal

Date of Publication:
May 31, 2004

This catchword has yet to be researched.