Meaning
To think very hard or struggle to solve a difficult problem.
Practice Bank
3 exercisesAquele problema de matemática fez o aluno ___________.
Para resolver o enigma, você vai ter que __________.
Os engenheiros tiveram que __________ para encontrar uma solução para o projeto.
🎉 Score: /3
This idiom, literally meaning 'to break the coconut,' evokes the image of someone expending great effort, similar to the arduous task of cracking open a tough coconut. The 'coco' (coconut) symbolizes a hard problem or a complex thought, and 'quebrar' (to break) represents the intense mental effort required to overcome it. This idiom has been in use for over 200 years, and its origin can be traced back to a time when coconuts were a common and challenging item to open, making the phrase a vivid metaphor for intellectual struggle. It highlights the persistence and mental exertion needed to solve perplexing issues. The idiom is prevalent in various Portuguese-speaking cultures, often used in informal contexts to describe deep concentration or mental strain.
