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Author here. This gave me a chuckle. :) And, yes, that's pretty much it, although "rebimboca da parafuseta" is less obscure than "reticulation of the splines"
by acidx 12y ago
Author here. This gave me a chuckle. :)
And, yes, that's pretty much it, although "rebimboca da parafuseta" is less obscure than "reticulation of the splines" (if you're Brazilian, anyway).
It is used to denote a fictitious part, which name or function are unknown, of a car engine or any other machine. It was coined in the 70s TV show, and later used in some ads aired during the same period; since then, it's an expression used for humorous effect. It's not very common these days but is unlikely you'll meet someone down here that never heard it.
- kaoD 12y agoWe've got a similar idiom in Spain: "la junta de la trócola" ("trócola's joint", not really translatable, though trócola is apparently a synonym for "polea", "pulley"). It was coined for a cigar brand TV commercial back in the 90s and also alludes to a fictional part, in this case used by a car repairman to fraud a customer into paying more in said commercial.
- mutagen 12y agoAha, not unlike the retro-encabulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXJKdh1KZ0w
- techdragon 12y agoLove that video, I may have shared it with more people than I did the original rick roll video lol
- emmelaich 12y agoWhich is of course a riff on the original turbo-encabulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7G7xOG2Ag https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac7G7xOG2Ag
- adrianm 12y agoOut of curiosity, do you know if this translation is used in the Portuguese versions of SimCity?
- ufo 12y agoI dont think it would be an accurate translation in that case. the rebimboca is a fictional object while spline reticulation is a fictional action.
- acidx 12y agoIf I recall correctly, a literal translation is used ("reticulando os splines"). But it's been years since the last alien invasion.