Snarky sentences

While they may not have the literary or inspirational elegance of the “Superb Sentences” series, a pair of phrases uttered by Omar Aziz, president of the congressional committee investigating the Bolsonaro administration’s handling of the pandemic, have attracted the attention of the commentators on the CBN radio/podcast show “Hora de Expediente” (“Business Hours”):

Chapéu de marreta é otário. “A sledgehammer hat is a fool.” A weirdly rearranged variation of an old expression, which was originally “Marreta é Chapéu de Otário.” That would be more like “A sledgehammer is a fool’s hat.” Either way, it means something like “Are you trying to make a fool of me?” And for a bit more context, as described on globo.com, this phrase was used when military police officer Luiz Paulo Dominguetti surprised the investigation by springing a recording on the committee that purported to be a congressional representative confessing to being involved in the government’s attempted kickback schemes for vaccines:

“You are under oath. Don’t come thinking everyone here is a fool. Or suckers. Look carefully at what your role is here. Out of nowhere comes audio of representative Luis Miranda. Is that right? A sledgehammer hat is a fool, brother,” said Aziz.

Vossa Excelência é o maior palhaço que tem aqui. “You are the biggest clown here.” This one is notable because Portuguese has a number of different ways to say “you.” Aziz chose the most formal form (literally meaning “your excellency”), which contrasts marvelously with “clown.”