Glossary entry

Portuguese term or phrase:

pessoa infiltrada

English translation:

he was already in the know

Added to glossary by lexical
Sep 17, 2014 17:09
9 yrs ago
Portuguese term

pessoa infiltrada

Portuguese to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings general conversation
The context is a transcribed interview with a Mozambican truck driver about his attitude to his job and completing his education.

"...mas que um dia a conversarmos, éramos três, eu estava com meu amigo, vizinho, então o outro é o que comenta para ele "Tu não queres fazer exame, não sei o que, não quer estudar, não quer fazer outra opção?"
"E eu olhei para ele e ele já era **uma pessoa infiltrada**, né, então pronto, eu só comentei, foi só um comentário, que "poxa que bem que eu gostaria de voltar à escola, mas meu trabalho não me faculta, hoje estou aqui, amanhã estou lá, não sei o que..."

I don't think we're talking about an **undercover person** here. As it's a transcription, we should also not rule out the transcriber mishearing the word.

I'd be grateful for any ideas (even wild ones) as to what this might possibly mean.

Discussion

lexical (asker) Sep 18, 2014:
Thank you to everybody. I'm hugely grateful for so many imaginative replies, several of which could well be right. We will never truly know what the truck driver was trying to say as we can't question him now, but I find Muriel's suggestion to be the most plausible in the circumstances. It also deals neatly with the question of "já" raised by George.
airmailrpl Sep 18, 2014:
"butting in" he was obviously "butting in" on the conversation
Muriel Vasconcellos Sep 18, 2014:
Very different interpretation I have proposed 'he was already in on the game'. I think it means that he knows the ropes, has access to the right people.
George Rabel Sep 17, 2014:
Nick and Mario Nick and Mario could very well be on the right track, but I still do not get the "já" part here: ele já era **uma pessoa infiltrada**,
Nick Taylor Sep 17, 2014:
A "Plant" or a "Snooper" sounds like it. ...
Mario Freitas Sep 17, 2014:
It sounds like they mean he is not family or not a close friend, that is, someone who is being "nosey" in the matter. The person says "I was sitting with my friend, my neighbor, but it was the other one (a stranger, being nosey) who made a comment..."
George Rabel Sep 17, 2014:
Tough situation! I've been looking at Portuguese pages from Mozambique and they all use the word with the meaning of "undercover." I guess you need to inform the client and offer both the logical translation (instruída) and the translation of what you hear, however improbable or illogical it may be.
Concordo com o George.
lexical (asker) Sep 17, 2014:
George, nice idea. I've been listening to the tape and it certainly sounds like "infiltrada". It doesn't sound like "instruida", alas. It could be a malapropism as the truck driver is not very educated.
Judith Armele Sep 17, 2014:
Could it be filtrada, as in this definition?

http://www.dicio.com.br/filtrar/
filtrar
v.t. Fazer passar um líquido através de um filtro. / Fig. Submeter a um controle: filtrar idéias. / Persuadir pouco a pouco, introduzir lentamente alguma coisa no espírito de alguém. / Insinuar-se, passar sub-repticiamente: deixar filtrar uma notícia. — V.i. Penetrar: a água filtra através das terras.


George Rabel Sep 17, 2014:
pessoa instruída? That would make more sense within the context.

Proposed translations

+2
4 hrs
Portuguese term (edited): ele já era uma pessoa infiltrada
Selected

he was already in on the game

This is my interpretation. He's saying that his friend is able to study because he has access to schooling--has the time, knows the right connections to help him get into school. He's suggesting that it's a game that he's not part of. He's being a little sarcastic because afterwards he almost apologizes for his comment.
Peer comment(s):

agree Renato Trettel : Acredito que a Muriel tem um bom ponto aqui. I believe that Muriel got a strong point here.
37 mins
Thanks, Renato!
agree Nick Taylor : Or even "already in the know" very UK idiomatic :-)
10 hrs
Thanks, Nick!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Many thanks Muriel. Your suggestion is the most plausible in the context, I think."
1 hr

stranger, covert, clandestine

Per discussion.
Something went wrong...
1 hr

a plant

a plant or even a snooper
Example sentence:

Is Rush Limbaugh a CIA plant?

Something went wrong...
3 hrs

outsider

suggestion
Something went wrong...
5 hrs

he was butting in

já era **uma pessoa infiltrada** => he was butting in

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Note added at 20 hrs (2014-09-18 13:32:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

he was 0bviously "butting in" on the conversation
Something went wrong...
20 hrs

he was already part of the system

suggestion... he wasn't an outsider to 'social success'
Something went wrong...
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