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Levantar com o pé esquerdo

Portuguese

Meaning

To get up on the wrong side of the bed

Example

Derrubei meu café, perdi o ônibus e fui demitida! Acordei com o pé esquerdo!

I dropped my coffee, missed the bus, and got fired! I got up on the wrong side of the bed!

Origin

'Sinistra' — the Latin for 'left-hand' — already carried the sense of unlucky or bad, and the superstition that starting the day with the left foot (or the left side of bed) brings bad luck is attested across medieval Europe.