Thursday, January 22, 2015

word of the day: favela

The word of the day is favela:

a shantytown in or near a city, especially in Brazil; slum area.
Brazilian Portuguese: alleged to be a name given to a hill in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, where such towns were built circa 1900; literally, a shrub of the family Euphorbiaceae, derivative of Portuguese fava bean 
Latin faba (dictionary.com)




"'To put it quite brutally, sir, we may not be able to find your friend even if he does have a great sense of rhythm,' said the American consulate in Rio de Janeiro, which had followed Buenos Aires in the dentist's and robot's sentimental tour of the Southern Hemisphere.  'By now, his various limbs nd attachments may be turned into sidings and windowsills in the favelas - the hillside shantytowns.  You may certainly initiate a search yourself if you think you might recognize individual bolts and springs, nuts and screws, mechanical accoutrements, and, of course, the authentic human teeth you fitted him out with yourself as a professional and affectionate favor."

 - Karen Elizabeth Gordon, Out of the Loud Hound of Darkness: A Dictionarrative

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