Explaining “X-miséria no maluco” to English speakers
“X-miséria no maluco” is a name invented by a friend at the University - Brasilia was how we used to call him - many years ago for a very simple, yet delicious sandwich served in a near bar.
As many of you know, in Brazil we call many sandwiches made with buns with names preceeded by “X”, because this letter sounds as “cheese” in Portuguese. And as it occasionally happens, many sandwiches with buns have also cheese.
But that’s where the plot thickens. Despite do having cheese, that “X sandwich” was not made with a bun, but with our beloved french-style bread, what we call “pão francês”. This is the most popular bread in Brazil and, important for our explanation, usually the less expensive at that times.
That’s where enters the second word of this name, “miséria”. While we could translate “miséria” as “misery” for moral lackness, at that context and more frequently in Portuguese it could be better translated as “poverty”, a “money lackness”. Well, while the price of that sandwith was truly lower than most of the other ones, of course there was some exaggeration in this claim.
But the popular flavor of this sandwith was not only due to the bread, but also because of its filling, mortadela (from Italian “mortadella”, with double “l”), is a cold cut less expensive than ham, beef or turkey. Mortadela is in my opinion the evidence that you don’t need to be rich to go to heaven and also the unconfessed preference of many people around here. But “bread with mortadella” was at that times poor people’s food in popular imagination. Again, of course there was some exaggeration in this claim. But young students are something exaggerated sometimes. Anyway, at this point, probably you understood the meaning of “X-miséria”.
As many of you know, in Brazil we call many sandwiches made with buns with names preceeded by “X”, because this letter sounds as “cheese” in Portuguese. And as it occasionally happens, many sandwiches with buns have also cheese.
But that’s where the plot thickens. Despite do having cheese, that “X sandwich” was not made with a bun, but with our beloved french-style bread, what we call “pão francês”. This is the most popular bread in Brazil and, important for our explanation, usually the less expensive at that times.
That’s where enters the second word of this name, “miséria”. While we could translate “miséria” as “misery” for moral lackness, at that context and more frequently in Portuguese it could be better translated as “poverty”, a “money lackness”. Well, while the price of that sandwith was truly lower than most of the other ones, of course there was some exaggeration in this claim.
But the popular flavor of this sandwith was not only due to the bread, but also because of its filling, mortadela (from Italian “mortadella”, with double “l”), is a cold cut less expensive than ham, beef or turkey. Mortadela is in my opinion the evidence that you don’t need to be rich to go to heaven and also the unconfessed preference of many people around here. But “bread with mortadella” was at that times poor people’s food in popular imagination. Again, of course there was some exaggeration in this claim. But young students are something exaggerated sometimes. Anyway, at this point, probably you understood the meaning of “X-miséria”.
But there’s something missing yet, the “no maluco” part of the story. “Maluco” is a quite informal word for “crazy”. Initially you may think “crazy” would refer to the incredible and wonderful flavor of juicy-spicy-hot mortadella with melted cheese combined with our loved French bread and perhaps some drops of chili sauce, but I must say this is not the true reason.
Actually this refers to the fact that my friend was telling the cook to remove the crumb, or pulp, from the bread before filling it. In Portuguese we call this “miolo”, a word that can be used either for an inner part of something or for somebody’s brains. So removing a “miolo” you may have nothing inside your bread or nothing inside your head. Therefore the relation between this sandwich and a crazy guy. Almost poetic, isn’t it?
Finally, I must remember you that this name is not widespreadly used in Brazil. It was a quite local and dated name for a sandwich you can find anywhere. So please do not try to use this name when ordering it or people will look strangely at you (“sanduíche de mortadela com queijo quente no pão sem miolo” is better). But I’d recommend you to try it some day, regardless of the name. And Bon Appetit!
Actually this refers to the fact that my friend was telling the cook to remove the crumb, or pulp, from the bread before filling it. In Portuguese we call this “miolo”, a word that can be used either for an inner part of something or for somebody’s brains. So removing a “miolo” you may have nothing inside your bread or nothing inside your head. Therefore the relation between this sandwich and a crazy guy. Almost poetic, isn’t it?
Finally, I must remember you that this name is not widespreadly used in Brazil. It was a quite local and dated name for a sandwich you can find anywhere. So please do not try to use this name when ordering it or people will look strangely at you (“sanduíche de mortadela com queijo quente no pão sem miolo” is better). But I’d recommend you to try it some day, regardless of the name. And Bon Appetit!
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