to bite one’s tongue, to put up with insults
Engula esse sapo por enquanto e espere o momento certo de agir.
Swallow your pride for now and wait for the right moment to act.
The origin of engolir sapo ("to swallow a toad") is disputed and not firmly documented. The image itself does the work: forcing down something repugnant without spitting it back out, just as one silently absorbs an insult. A popular tale links it to the biblical plagues of Egypt. Exodus describes frogs invading homes, ovens and kneading bowls, but does not tell of diners swallowing them to avoid making a scene; that detail is not a biblical account of the expression’s origin; other accounts point only to European folklore that cast the toad as a vile, hard-to-stomach creature.
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