@ bounty I just intended to set on peppermint!
@Sancho- the problem about these metaphors is that they occur more easily in Portuguese for me but go nuts when I try to translate them.
One beautiful current example: "passar o pano para alguém". Literally it means "wipe (the room) with a damp cloth for someone."
Methaphorically it is used to express the attenuation excuse or the covering up of a fault, a bad action or even a crime, as wiping the floor is considered a superficial and inadequate way of cleaning a room.In Brazilian politics there is always a lot of floor wiping going on.