Pagar um Mico
Fernando Nonohay Nonohay 
In this post, you'll learn a very popular expression in Brazilian Portuguese that literally translates as to pay a monkey - pagar um mico.
The expression pagar um mico is sometimes said without the indefinite article um: pagar mico.
Mico is a small, long-tailed monkey. Although the word for monkey in general, in Portuguese is macaco. The expression actually means to be in an embarrassing situation, to embarrass yourself, to make a fool of yourself, to make a faux-pas. Some people say it comes from linking the action of making a fool of yourself with how monkeys do silly things sometimes. Another theory is that it comes from a very popular children's card game called Jogo do Mico, in which there's a pair of cards for several animals except the mico. The player who finishes the game holding the mico card is the loser.
Now, let's see examples of how to use this expression in some sentences.
Let's suppose I went to a party last night thinking it was a fancy dress party, but I was the only one who turned up wearing a costume. So, before I start telling the story to a friend I could introduce it with: I made a fool of myself yesterday at the party! Paguei um mico ontem na festa!
Another example:
Você acha que eu vou pagar mico com esse chapéu?
Do you think I'm going to embarrass myself with this hat?
When you're listening to a friend telling you an embarrassing situation you could comment by saying:
Que mico! / How embarrassing!
Categories: : Vocabulary, Expressions