Glossary entry

Portuguese term or phrase:

a braços com

English translation:

faced with

Added to glossary by Oliver Simões
Jul 24, 2021 14:50
2 yrs ago
15 viewers *
Portuguese term

a braços com

Portuguese to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Glossary
A braços com
1 Envolvido com, em situação de enfrentamento com: Violento, está sempre a braços com a polícia.
-- Aulete Digital

Initially, I thought of "up in arms with", but that's probably a better translation for "em pé de guerra":
https://en.opentran.net/english-portuguese/up in arms.html

I also thought of "hold out against", but I'm not sure that it has the same meaning.

hold out (against someone or something) to continue one's defense against someone or something: We can hold out against them only a little while longer. (The Free Dictionary by Farlex)

What would you suggest?
Proposed translations (English)
3 engaged with
4 +6 at loggerheads with

Discussion

Oliver Simões (asker) Jul 25, 2021:
Some examples Below are two examples in PT-Br along with the translation in parentheses provided by Deepl:

"Agostinho Barbalho, voltou-se para um e outro lado como buscando um meio que lhe salvasse a vida, sem comprometer a honra, que ele julgava arriscada aceitando a nomeação que o Povo fizera: e vendo-se ** a braços com o rancor e insolência ** da plebe só e sem apoio para contrariá-la e repeli-la, considerando em como se arriscava a Praça, por servir Sua Majestade, remir a própria vida e por quietação do Povo aceitou o cargo de Governador, debaixo de todos os protestos." (faced with the rancor and insolence) https://repositorio.ufsc.br/bitstream/handle/123456789/18769...
"Nos Estados Unidos essa indústria ensaiou os seus primeiros passos em 1871. mas só em 1914, quando a indústria téxtil ** se viu a braços com a falta de concorrentes. orocedentes da Alemanha. é que se tratou de defendê-la co muma tarifa protecionista." (was faced with a lack of competitors) https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra...
Katarina Peters Jul 25, 2021:
@Domini Here is one link for the original in PT: http://orxeira-euportugues.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-bracos-com...
Domini Lucas Jul 25, 2021:
@Katarina I know the English expression (I'm UK native). I was saying I don't know the Portuguese idiom and am basing my response on Oliver's definition. Sorry if not previously clear! Great link btw. :-)
Domini Lucas Jul 25, 2021:
@Oliver Noted! Thanks for the link. Very interesting. :-)
Oliver Simões (asker) Jul 25, 2021:
Domini, It depends, if an idiom exists that carries the main word through, and as long as it’s a good match, I’m all for it. However, in this case, there’s another Portuguese idiom that seems to be a better match for “up in arms with”. I have already included it in my Glossary. By the way, feel free to check it out at https://masterportuguesetranslator.com/glossaries/idioms-and... (There’s no end to this project, but I’m learning so much.)
Domini Lucas Jul 24, 2021:
@Oliver up in arms was what I was about to post before I noticed your comment about it. I had assumed you might want to carry the arms through where such a possibility exists.

Proposed translations

4 mins
Selected

engaged with

:)
ENGAGE WITH (phrasal verb) definition and synonyms ...https://www.macmillandictionary.com › ...
Traduzir esta página
Definition of ENGAGE WITH (phrasal verb): try to understand and deal with something; start to fight an enemy in battle.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Claudio. Your translation seems closest to the one I was able to validate. I'm using "faced with" instead. Please refer to my comments on the Discussion Board.
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2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you again. "
+6
34 mins

at loggerheads with

Note from asker:
Thank you, Katarina. Based on the definition and the example provided by Aulete's Dictionary, this idiom seems to be related to physical confrontation. Apparently, the examples on the page you have referenced pertain to confrontation other than physical. I tried replacing "at loggerheads with" with "a braços com" and it didn't sound right. Deepl translates "at loggerheads with" as "em pé de guerra" in this particular example: https://www.deepl.com/translator#en/pt/Pundits%20are%20also%20at%20loggerheads%20about%20the%20crisis. I'll have to give it some more thought. Hopefully, somethig else will come up. Thank you again.
I followed the link to the blogspot (from the Discussion Board) and to me those sentences (or at least the ones I analyzed) translate as "up in arms against", which, in my opinion, best translates as "em pé de guerra".
"Faced with" works well with all the sentences in the blogspot. I think I'm pretty much settled on this one. :-)
Sorry about the confusion. Initially, I thought "up in arms" was the best translation, but "faced with" works even better. I also validated "faced with" in a couple of more examples that I posted on the Discussion Board.
Peer comment(s):

agree Verginia Ophof
14 mins
Thanks, Verginia :)
agree Domini Lucas : as a good English idiom based on the definition. I don't know the original ST idiom.
19 mins
Thanks, Domini! https://writingexplained.org/idiom-dictionary/at-loggerheads...
agree David Hollywood : Perfect and I will withdraw my "at odds with" as same thing. No problem Katarina and six of one ...
2 hrs
Thank you, David! You could have left yours, it's whatever fits best in a given text :)
agree Muriel Vasconcellos : Perfect!
4 hrs
Thank you, Muriel!
agree Nick Taylor
5 hrs
Thanks, Nick!
agree Andrew Bramhall
7 hrs
Thanks, Oliver!
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