Meaning
To drop a hint or float a leading remark to get someone to reveal information or the truth.
Example
Joguei verde dizendo que ouvi um boato, e ela acabou contando tudo.
I floated a hint by saying I'd heard a rumour, and she ended up telling me everything.
Origin
The expression is a harvest metaphor: jogar verde ("to throw something green/unripe") is to put out a tentative remark or bait, and colher maduro ("to harvest ripe") is to reap the finished result — the full, revealing information. So you sow an unripe hint in order to gather a ripe truth.
Sources: Dicionário de Expressões, Escreva.ai.
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More idioms
Vá num pé e volte no outroGo and come straight back as fast as you can.Cria fama e deita na camaOnce you've built a reputation, it sticks — people go on believing it of you with no further effort.Comi que fiquei tristeTo eat so much you're uncomfortably stuffed.Saco vazio não para em péYou can't function on an empty stomach — you have to eat first.Água mole em pedra dura, tanto bate até que furaSteady, persistent effort eventually overcomes even the hardest obstacle.Filho de peixe, peixinho éChildren take after their parents — the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.De maneira nenhumaNo way; by no means; absolutely not. Used to emphatically deny or refuse something.dê seus pulosFigure it out yourself, manage on your ownser laranjaTo be a front man, to lend one's name for illegal or fraudulent activitiesse desenmerdarTo sort things out on one's own, to get oneself out of trouble (vulgar)