Skip to content
Back to all idioms

Chato de galocha

Portuguese

Meaning

An extremely annoying, persistent pest.

Example

Ele liga dez vezes por dia para a mesma coisa; é um chato de galocha.

He calls ten times a day about the same thing; he's a real pest.

Origin

A galocha is a rubber overshoe once worn over your shoes to keep out mud and rain. Placed around the 1950s, the expression intensifies chato ("annoying") along two lines that sources give together: a galosh is tough and hard to peel off — like a pest who won't let go — and it evokes the inconsiderate visitor who tramps into someone's home still wearing galoshes, dripping and dirtying everything.