to sit on one's hands, to stand idly by
Não vou ficar de braços cruzados enquanto destroem o parque da cidade.
I won't stand idly by while they destroy the city park.
The expression draws straight from body language: ficar de braços cruzados means "to stay with one's arms crossed". Folded arms are idle hands — hands that are doing no work — so the posture became a vivid image for staying passive and doing nothing while something happens around you.
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