Big Fresh – frescão!
The words “Big Fresh” mean a lot of different things around the world.
Big and Fresh
Supermarkets, logistics companies, burgers, soft drinks and air fresheners – there are a lot of things claiming to be both big and fresh. There is even a terrible Danish rapper whose one track is so bad that I can’t bring myself to post it.
Well, here in Rio, the Big Fresh is a bus. A big, blue, very well air-conditioned bus. This contrasts rather nicely with yesterday’s little postykins (see what I did there?) because the actual Portuguese word for ‘fresh’ is fresco, but the bus is called frescão. Sticking ão on the end of a word does the opposite of the inho we looked at yesterday. The opposite of a diminutive (the internet has just informed me) is an augmentative.
 |
| Frescão – not the offical name, but all Cariocas call it this. So augmentative… |
The child that I am, I rather enjoy this little trick. If something is chato that means it is boring or annoying. But chatão? We are talking big-time boring my friends. Someone who is very fat, gordo, could be unkindly described as gordão. I tag it on the end of all kinds of words to add a little emphasis.
Anyway, back to the Frescão. As I said, they get the name because they are very well air-conditioned – not just fresh, but Big Fresh! In the hot summer months Rio gets very hot (regularly above 40C/104F) and the standard buses (which are often crammed with passengers) can become sweaty and uncomfortable. That’s when the Big Fresh starts to look tempting. The fare is roughly twice that of a normal bus and for the extra cost you get a big comfy seat and temperatures close to freezing.
You may detect my disdain for these rolling fridges – I just find them unpleasant. No public transport should be that cold. And I’m sure it can’t be good for you to go from the stifling heat of the street to the icy cold of the bus and then back again. But it seems to be a common phenomenon in many Latin American countries. People all over the continent routinely wait for buses wrapped in fleeces, quilts and carrying extra blankets just in case the a/c is really intense.
A few observations.
– I am a bit confused regarding the meaning of Chato: does it translate to annoying, boring or can it mean both? Personally I use Chato for annoying and Enfadonho for boring (it's just how I roll).
– A friend once dated a girl we used to call Chatão, this because her name was Chantal (chick was from Quebec). So here the ÃO ending was added because of her French name, regardless of her annoying nature (she was actually from France). An exception to the augemtative rule that I thought your readers should be aware of.
– If a proper word ends in ÃO, like falcão (falcon) for example then should we add a zão for an augumentative and a zinho for a diminutive? Falcãozão and Falcãozinho? This eludes me and since I dabble in illegal hunting this is relevant: Should I say "c'mon, it was just a falcãoZINHO" when busted by a Brazilian forest ranger?
– The coupon that advertises KFC's NEW BIG FRESH SANDWICH is wierd. It kinda conveys that all the previous lines of sandwiches the Coln put out were old and rotten. I think the Big Fresh name is only well suited for items related to cleaning. Do you get that impression as well? If we agree on this then the guy being interviewed below makes alot of sense.
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=10-12-2011
I have spoken.
The Frescão is more used by people like me, who live far from downtown. If you are gonna stay 1/1,5 hour inside a bus (specially during summer), you better get one of this… From Ilha, you would pay 2,5 for a regular bus and 4 or 6,50 (depending on the hour) for a Frescão. As I dont use public transport very often, I think its worth the price. But of course for you it isnt. You live in a really nice place, close of pretty much everything! =) What are 15 minutes inside a regular bus?!
Wow Gritty, you most certainly have! (spoken)
Good tactic with the chato alternative – I find these Portuguese words which have two English translations so, er, chato. But whichever way you translate it, no one should have a girlfriend (or boyfriend) whose nickname is Chatão!
KFC: Totally agree.
Falcãozão vs Falcãozinho: Sometimes I worry about you…
You're right Sthephani, my bus trips rarely last longer than 30 minutes so I don't get fully cooked, even in summer. And I'm sure the higher fare means that as well as being (much) cooler, the Frescão probably doesn't get as crowded right?