bicho-papão

Portuguese

Etymology

From bicho (“beast”) +‎ papão (“glutton”). The legend says the creature would come at night to eat mischievous children, thus originating its name.

Noun

bicho-papão m (plural bichos-papões)

  1. bogeyman (menacing, ghost-like monster in children’s stories)
    Synonym: papão

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:bicho-papão.

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