Calabreso, basculho, mulinga: the expressions that became famous because of BBB

BBB 24 is a portrait of Brazil: diverse, full of different accents and discussing different issues. And from time to time, Globo’s attraction also presents us with several words that are famous in some very specific regions.

This is the case of what happened in the fight this Thursday (1) between Davi Brito, Lucas Henrique and MC Bin Laden. During the exchange of barbs, the 21-year-old Bahian used a term that many people didn’t know: calabreso.

That “calm down, Calabreso!” It is already one of the most heard phrases in Brazil. And with that in mind, this noble column decided to make a small dictionary of expressions that you first heard on BBB.

The criteria is simple: if it became popular on BBB, it fits here. All of this is so you don’t get lost in that conversation between friends, as several participants didn’t get lost during the discussion.

See five expressions that were immortalized on BBB:

1) Calabreso

The “calm down, Calabrese!” It has a very simple origin: it’s a catchphrase from actor Toninho Tornado, who swaps feminine words for masculine words to confuse people in his pranks.

Tornado became popular on João Kleber’s program, on RedeTV!, where he remained for years as the main star of street games. Last year, the term enjoyed a new boom in popularity on Tik Tok.

2) Basque

In a fight between GIl do Vigor and Pocah, when tempers were high, out of nowhere the Pernambuco native released a phrase that went down in history: “I didn’t come to lose to Basculho!”.

Just like Pocah, the whole of Brazil asked the question: what is basculho? The term is nothing more than slang from the northeastern state, which means a pitiful, meaningless person, trash. To this day, the term is repeated in the four corners of Brazil.

3) Strengthen

Gil do Vigor also brought another popular expression that gained popularity on the program: vigorar, which is nothing more than conquering something, achieving and fighting for an achievement.

The catchphrase became so popular that Gil still uses it today for a popular financial education section on his social networks and on the program Mais Você, presented by Ana Maria Braga, on Globo.

4) Mulinga!

BBB 21 champion, Juliette Freire also popularized a term of her own: when she was impressed by something in the house, she would exclaim: “Eita, mulinga!!”. Her fans repeat her to this day when she has a fight that goes viral on social media.

Juliette explained to Globo in a situation that mulinga is an expression typically from Paraíba. The word means astonishment or surprise. “It would be like: Oh, my God! Wow, damn it!”, she said in an interview.