It is an expression used by many Portuguese, but most will not even know its meaning or its possible origin.
“The color of a donkey when it runs away” is an expression used by many Portuguese, but most will not even know its meaning or its possible origin.
The expression designates a color difficult to define. It’s that color that is neither one thing nor another, nor stands out. An uncharacteristic or, in other cases, unpleasant, dull or shiny color, as described by specialist Mafalda Lopes da Costa, in .
But where did the donkey come from to designate a color that no one knows very well what it is?
According to , this expression appeared by distorting another expression: “Run from the donkey when it runs away”.
The donkey is a calm animal, normally; but when he gets angry he is uncontrollable. Therefore, it is better to run away from it, as this proverb from other times dictates.
Over time, the “run” in the verb to run became “color”.
Other experts consider that the origin of the expression is in the word “burrus”.
“Burrus”, in Latin, means “ruco” or “reddish”. In other words, according to this theory, the expression is actually related to a color: something close to red.
More or less red.
Or more or less “the color of a donkey when it runs away”.
Nuno Teixeira da Silva, ZAP //
