tambâ tacho

Macanese

Alternative forms

• tambâ-tacho

Etymology

Literally, “to fix pot/pan”. Possibly a calque of Cantonese 補鑊／补镬 (bou² wok⁶, “to fix a mess”, literally “to repair a wok”).

Verb

tambâ tacho (idiomatic)

1. to substitute or fill in for someone at the last minute

   Chomâ iou vai tambâ tacho? Nádi!

   Invite me to replace someone missing? No way!

References

• https://www.macaneselibrary.org/pub/english/uipatua.htm#t
• Batalha, Graciete Nogueira (1988) “tambar tacho”, in Glossário do dialecto macaense: notas linguísticas, etnográficas e folclóricas [Glossary of the Macanese dialect: linguistic, ethnographic and folkloric notes], Macau: Instituto Cultural de Macau, page 540