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Glossary entry

Portuguese term or phrase:

boiar (em uma aula, palestra, etc.)

English translation:

to be totally clueless (in a class, lecture, etc.)

Added to glossary by Oliver Simões
Jan 21, 2022 18:53
2 yrs ago
28 viewers *
Portuguese term

boiar

Portuguese to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Glossary
boiar: Estar por fora do assunto, não entender, sem saber oque está acontecendo.
Fui numa palestra sobre nanotecnologia e fiquei boiando o tempo inteiro.
-- Dicionário Informal

I'm looking for an English translation for this slang term that I can use to cross-reference with this idiom:
not have a clue; have no clue: não fazer ideia; não ter a menor ideia.

This page will give you a better idea of what I'm trying to do:
https://masterportuguesetranslator.com/glossaries/idioms-and...

I came up with "be/get lost" and "go adrift" (for example, during a class or lecture), but I'm not convinced about either one. For one, there seems to be a register mismatch (plain English vs. slang). I wonder if there is a term that's more slangy so to speak.

Thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 to be totally clueless
3 to be in the dark
Change log

Jan 23, 2022 13:47: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "boiar"" to ""to be totally clueless""

Discussion

Katarina Peters Jan 22, 2022:
Oliver, I think you have enough 'clues' now to use your own judgment regarding 'boiar', the literal translation of which actually is 'to float'.
Oliver Simões (asker) Jan 21, 2022:
Hmmm! According to Lexico.com:
over one's head: beyond someone's ability to understand.
"the discussion was over my head, I'm afraid"

In Portuguese, it doesn't necessarily imply someone's inability to understand. Rather, it might be that he wasn't focusing on the lecture for whatever reason. For example, if I were mentally exhausted and someone tried to teach me something new, I would have a hard time assimilating the information, in which case I would say "estou boiando". I think "Ï'm completely lost" or "I'm totally clueless" (as Barbara suggests) fits better in this context. But thank you, anyway.
Katarina Peters Jan 21, 2022:
i.e., he was totally clueless, as Barbara said.
Katarina Peters Jan 21, 2022:
top is my mistake the more I read the context, the more I think that the meaning here (e fiquei boiando o tempo inteiro) is that it was all going over the subject's head, i.e., he did not understand a thing, he was lost.
Katarina Peters Jan 21, 2022:
OK, so over my head, then : https://www.quora.com/
Oliver Simões (asker) Jan 21, 2022:
@Katarina, Thank you! I couldn't find "over the top of one's head" with this particular meaning. The ones I found meant "over the top of..." literally. I did find "OFF the top of one's head", but the meaning is not the same.

"Not have the foggiest" apparently seems to fit in. You might want to enter it as an answer.
https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/not_have_the_foggiest

PS: Not so sure anymore, since "boiar" is an intransitive verb. See no. 6: https://www.aulete.com.br/boiar Unless I could remove the complement. Would this make sense to you? --> I was expecting to fail the test as I didn't have the foggiest in the lecture hall last week. (I just noticed that all the examples on Lexico.com do have an object: either "idea" or "notion".)
Katarina Peters Jan 21, 2022:
just occurred to me fiquei boiando o tempo inteiro = it was going over the top of my head all the time,
or: I didn't have the foggiest (of what it was all about)

Proposed translations

+6
15 mins
Selected

to be totally clueless

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/totally clueless

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Note added at 58 mins (2022-01-21 19:51:51 GMT)
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Yes, was totally unable to absorb or comprehend the concepts put forth during the lecture.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Barbara. I found an example for illustration purposes: "I was expecting to fail the test as I was totally clueless in the lecture hall last week"
Peer comment(s):
agree José Patrício : your link
7 mins
Muita obrigada, José!
agree Aldo Pereira
22 mins
Obrigada, Aldo.
agree Katarina Peters : that's it
38 mins
Thanks, Katarina!
agree Clauwolf
48 mins
Thanks, Clauwolf.
agree Muriel Vasconcellos
2 hrs
Thanks, Muriel!
agree Simone Taylor
3 hrs
Thank you, Simone.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
1 hr

to be in the dark

:)

in the dark (about something) ​Definitions and Synonymshttps://www.macmillandictionary.com › ...
Traduzir esta página
Definition of IN THE DARK (ABOUT SOMETHING) (phrase): not knowing much about something

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-01-21 20:28:35 GMT)
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"be in the dark about something" em português - Bab.lahttps://pt.bab.la › dicionario › ingles-portugues › be-in-...
Usually, recipients are not told where the organ comes from, and surgeons who perform the transplants may also be in the dark about the source. more_vert

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Note added at 1 hr (2022-01-21 20:44:58 GMT)
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https://pt.bab.la/dicionario/ingles-portugues/be-in-the-dark
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