This is one of those expressions that might sound funny at first but they actually make a LOT of sense.
First of all, do you know what whip-round means?
The Cambridge definition is: a collection of money made by a group of people that is then given to a particular person or used to buy a present for them.
In order words, VAQUINHA! Yep! Crazy, right?
Have you ever seen those cartoons where one man with a whip can use the whip from grab something from other person's hand? Indeed. I think the idea behind this is expression is precisely that (or perhaps I'm just imagining things).
Whip means "chicote" and "round" means "em volta", so it is as though someone were "chicoteando (algo) ou pegando algo "em volta".
Interesting enough, according to the Dictionary of Word Origins from Oxford, whip-round has in fact another origin:
'Whip' came into English from old German and Dutch wippen 'to swing, leap and dance'. The parliamentary whip, responsible for ensuring that party members runt up and vote in debates, was originally a whipper-in. This is a term in hunting, where the whipper-in uses his whip to keep the hounds from straying. The short form is first found in 1850. Whip-round, or collection of contributions of money, is related.
"Fazer vaquinha" (BRa term) has also another possible translation in English: to chip in!
Example taken from Cambridge Dictionary:
They each chipped in $50 to take their parents out to dinner.
(Just remember: Phrasal Verbs are real FALSIANES and have other meanings depending on the context).
Hope you enjoyed this piece of linguistic trivia.
See you next time!
Rai
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