desenrascanço
n.— «“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.» —“Glossy black plastic toys” by Eduardo J. Sousa If Then Else (Porto, Portugal) May 31, 2004. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious tasks and jaw-dropping views. And: a musician who rode the rails in his youth shares the slang he...
Steve, a singer-songwriter from Rock Springs, Wyoming, shares some slang he picked up while months riding the rails and busking. Spanging refers to panhandling, from asking for “spare change.” The term bull refers to a type of security...