Jun 9, 2018 18:08
5 yrs ago
Portuguese term

Cuca fumegante

Non-PRO Portuguese to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
This appears in a list of faults the narrator is finding with his lover’s family. The context is: “o pai alcoólatro, a mãe repressora, o irmão competitivo, a irmã de cuca fumegante.” I am inclined to translate it as “hotheaded” but wanted to make sure I’m not missing a more idiomatic meaning? It strikes me as something like the English expression “with smoke coming out of her ears.” Perhaps that would be a more accurate translation? Thank you!
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (2): Oliver Simões, T o b i a s

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Discussion

Oliver Simões Jun 10, 2018:
Unclear "Cuca fumegante" could be virtually anything. It's not clear from the context. The Asker's safest bet would be to check with the client/author. In the process of translating some romance novels, I was amazed at the number of wrong hunches/guesses that we sometimes make as translators. Hard to infer meaning from a context that's not very clear or is incomplete, which seems to be the case here!
T o b i a s Jun 9, 2018:
"o pai alcoólatro, a mãe repressora, o irmão competitivo" This is already straightforward in terms of terminology (and translation); so if the sister were being called a druggy, I think the author would have used a more common term. I think 'hotheaded' probably fits the bill, having googled fumegante in conjunction with several possible stand-ins for 'cuca.' So, hotheaded, sassy-assed, tearaway, etc.

Proposed translations

+1
19 hrs
Selected

hotheaded

I agree with the definition/explanation by Tobias, and first option from the asker.

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Note added at 19 hrs (2018-06-10 13:43:39 GMT)
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This expression by the asker above might be in PT/PT, equivalent to our BR/PT "cabeça quente", meaning "esquentada", "estourada"...
Peer comment(s):

agree T o b i a s
2 hrs
Tks, Tobias
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you to both Padua and Tobias!"
18 mins

a crackhead; an alcoholic

Suponho que seja uma referência a alguma substância psicotrópica. O contexto não parece ser suficiente para tirar uma conclusão definitiva. Sendo assim, sugiro consultar o cliente.

Ao pesquisar "cabeça fumegante" no Google, encontrei um texto do jornalista Luiz Antônio de Tedesco (Tedinho) em se ele autodescreve como um jornalista "cachaceiro". Essa poderia ser outra possibilidade. Veja link abaixo.

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Note added at 25 mins (2018-06-09 18:34:13 GMT)
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Lista de palavras que denotam uma pessoa que bebe muito: https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/thesaurus-category/am...
Example sentence:

Quando a sombra do viaduto da Treze de Maio se fez sobre minha cabeça fumegante, era como estar alcançando o pote de ouro no fim do arco-íris.

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25 mins

pothead

Assuming the person smokes pot, but not necessarily stronger stuff ... ;)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pothead

pothead
ˈpɒthɛd/Submeter
nouninformal
a person who smokes cannabis.
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