Because I have many moments where internet memes pop into my head and I find myself thinking "you keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" when I hear things uttered, I've decided to start a new feature called Decoding Derp wherein we visit expressions that are used repeatedly and either out of context, incorrectly, or some combination of the above. I go along with things to the extent that I don't get completely annoyed, but when I notice even my own speech patterns reverting to a linguistic equilibrium — adapting to use the same or similar words and phrasing in order to establish a 'common ground' of language — all bets are off. All of these words and examples should be read in a voice subtly and artificially accented in a manner of denial that such a thing exists at all.
Today we start with a descriptor adjective of this city, the word malandra:
malandra [mǝlandɹa] adj.
From malandro, meaning a person of a quality described as a "clever swindler", a "bad boy", a "lover or flirt that conquers women one by one". Connotation neutral; neither positive nor negative. In Brazil, can also mean "a dishonest man involved in illegal activities"; "a swindler"; "a trickster".
In common parlance, this is to be used ad nauseam to describe a city in any situation describable in negative terms and qualities. Preferable usage should depict situations in which one is under no realistic threat of harm to or violation of their person except in the imaginations of the much-satirized suburban American middle class. Synonyms include "sketchy" and its variants. Examples:
"Hey dude, don't get smoked! It's a malandra city!"
"Yeah, you know, it's a malandra city, you've gotta watch your back."
"I was walking down the street the other night man and it's like 4 AM, and even though this is a total malandra city, I think even the criminals go to sleep at some point because I didn't see any sketchy people at all, it was totally fine!"
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