'7-1 Wasn't Enough': World Cup Loss Enters Brazilian Lexicon Ahead Of Olympics
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
NPR's Melissa Block is also in Rio where she's picked up a handy bit of Brazilian slang.
MELISSA BLOCK, BYLINE: It's a phrase spun out of an infamous Brazilian defeat. Two years ago, Brazil's men's national soccer team was playing Germany in the World Cup semi-finals. Brazil was hosting the cup.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: El goal, goal, goal, (speaking Portuguese).
BLOCK: Final score - Germany seven, Brazil one. Brazil's team was left weeping on the field. It was national humiliation on an epic scale.
RENATO DE ALEXANDRINO: I don't know why you're trying to remember that actually, but...
BLOCK: Sports reporter Renato de Alexandrino with O Globo told me the phrase that's entered the lexicon.
DE ALEXANDRINO: (Speaking Portuguese). Seven-one wasn't enough.
BLOCK: In other words, when things are bad - say, the Olympic arenas aren't finished or the athletes village is a mess - 7-1 wasn't enough.
DE ALEXANDRINO: Because the Brazilians have a good sense of humor, so we make fun of our tragedies.
BLOCK: Melissa Block, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.
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