Tilambuco

Portuguese

Etymology

Used because one possible demonym, "tilambucano", sounds similar to "te lambo o cano" (literally "I lick your pipe") in colloquial speech.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.lɐ̃ˈbu.ku/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.lɐ̃ˈbu.ku/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃi.lɐ̃ˈbu.ko/

• Rhymes: (Brazil) -uku, (Southern Brazil) -uko
• Hyphenation: Ti‧lam‧bu‧co

Proper noun

Tilambuco

1. (Brazil, humorous) A fictitious toponym used solely to trick someone when asking them about its demonym (it is expected that, by analogy to, for example, Pernambuco, whose demonym is "pernambucano", one would respond that a person born in Tilambuco is a "tilambucano", which sounds similar to "te lambo o cano", literally "I lick your pipe", with "pipe" being a metaphor for penis)

   – Quem nasce em Pernambuco é pernambucano. E quem nasce em Tilambuco, é o quê?
   – Tilambucano.
   – Fica à vontade, pode lamber sim.

   – People born in Pernambuco are Pernambucano. And those born in Tilambuco, what are they?
   – Tilambucano.
   – Go ahead, feel free to lick it then.

Derived terms

• tilambucano
• tilambuquense

 

Further reading

• “Tilambuco”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2024