22.07.25 - Pregar uma peça

Halloooo,

Hope all well. 

It's been a busy week, with Gaby's grandpa passing away on Wednesday morning, and the wake and cremation stretching into the night - it was a lovely service at least! - and an Indaiatuba getaway at the weekend turning into a trip over the border to Minas for a slap-up meal, then hours of traffic on the way back home. 

All this, I might add, combined with impromptu dashes to hardware stores to scout bathroom tiles and keep the work at the flat ticking over. And without coffee!

I've made another compilation, and today's phrase is hot off the press as I learnt it this morning - "pregar uma peça", or "to play a prank on someone", but not in a malicious way...

And I think that's about it - speak soon!

Sigmund Fred

15.07.25 - Melhor ter ido ver o filme do Pelé

Halloooo,

Hope all well. It's still freakishly cold here, and work / flat renovations continue apace, but we've been unusually social over the weekend nevertheless. We went out on Friday to meet a fellow gringofluencer and record some silly videos, then on to Gibran & Gabriela's on Saturday to say hi to their baby Maya, and finally a slap-up meal in Mooca on Sunday.

Meanwhile, I've made a new compilation, and my phrase of the day - "We'd have been better off going to see Pelé's film" - requires a deep dive into Brazilian TV lore. In an episode of the beloved, very silly Mexican TV show "Chaves", the titular character goes to the cinema but keeps complaining he'd rather be watching "El Chanfle", which starred the same cast as "Chaves". 

For the Brazilian dub, references to the film (which wasn't released in Brazil) were swapped for "Pelé's film" because, as it turns out, Pelé starred in dozens of films including "Escape to Victory" with Michael Caine and Sylvester Stallone. And nowadays it's used as a go-to reference for whenever you'd rather be doing something else. 

Hope that helps! No worries if not!

Fred & Breakfast

08.07.25 - Comer mosca

Hallooooo,

Hope all well, and good to talk at the weekend. 

Not much to report this week except for a nice trip to the Horto Florestal to get some sun, and a trip to the doctors where I received the devastating news that I have to cut back my 3L-of-caffeine daily habit (which so far has been... fine actually).

Elsewhere I've made another compilation, and my phrase of the day - "comer mosca", or "to eat flies" - means to let an opportunity pass you by while you're distracted. 

And I believe that's about it for now - speak soon!

Don't Fred on Me

01.07.25 - Segurar vela

Halloooo,

Hope all well. 

We are both ill again, along with everyone else in the country apparently, and overrun with work, so we spent most of the weekend resting up, although we did go on a road trip to a remote homestead in Mogi das Cruzes on Saturday to pick up an antique cabinet for our bathroom, as you do.

I've made another compilation, and my phrase of the week translates as "to hold a candle", or to be a third wheel in an otherwise romantic situation (origin: unknown). And that's about it for now - speak soon!

Before the Devil Knows You're Fred