Nautical notions

I was happy to recall a forgotten Portuguese phrase this week -- "ficar à toa". It's the verb for vegging out, being a couch potato, or not lifting a finger. It's clearly an idiom but it took me a while to unearth its roots. I eventually found this article that describes the nautical history of that phrase along with many other Portuguese expressions. Just a warning, parts of the article put on display some of the "machismo" embedded in common Portuguese sayings or "ditos."

Quoted from the article

A nautical metaphor which has gone so deep into Brazilian language that most Brazilians have forgotten its watery origins is the expression “à toa” or “à-toa,” which has come to have a broad spectrum of meanings. The literal meaning is “under tow,” that is a ship with no sails raised, no motion of its own, not setting its own course, only moving through the water because there is a tow rope pulling it along.

The phrase goes beyond "being lazy" and has more to do with giving up control, acting randomly without a plan. That randomness is emphasized in other phrases where "à toa" appears. For example, someone who "ri à toa" laughs for no good reason, at things that barely qualify as funny.

Until my next entry, eu vou ficar à toa.