Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Portuguese term or phrase:
um banana
English translation:
a wimp / milksop / pushover
Portuguese term
United States
BA in Transl., MA in ESL, 15 yrs of exp.
Native in: Portuguese 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Spanish to Portuguese, and 2 more.
um banana
Expressão popular utilizada para se referir a alguém que aceita ser controlado muito facilmente, com poucas opiniões, que cai facilmente em manipulações. - https://www.dicionarioinformal.com.br/é um banana
Does "wimp" convey the same idea? If not, what would you recommend?
Note: the phrase above is just for illustration purposes. The idiom is "um banana".
| 4 | wimp |
Katarina Peters
|
| 5 | milksop |
Paul Dixon
|
| 4 +1 | pushover |
Matt Cast
|
| 5 | tosser |
Nick Taylor
|
| 3 | a turnip; BrE: a wet; a feckless fellow or character |
Adrian MM.
|
Jul 11, 2021 20:05: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "um banana"" to ""a wimp; a milksop; a pushover""
Jul 11, 2021 20:05: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "um banana"" to ""wimp; milksop; pushover""
Jul 12, 2021 23:57: Oliver Simões changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/2407412">Oliver Simões's</a> old entry - "um banana"" to ""a wimp; a milksop; a pushover""
Proposed translations
Canada
Accuracy and A1 presentation
Native in: Hungarian 
, English (Variant: US)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Hungarian to English, and 13 more.
wimp
Brazil
PT/EN Translator - ABRATES Certified
Native in: English (Variants: UK, British) , Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese
milksop
QUADROS, JS - page 182; TAYLOR, J - page 93
| Thank you, Paul. Interesting. That's a new word to me. The MacMillan Dictionary defines it as "an insulting word for a boy or man who is not brave" and Collins says it's an "insulting" word meaning "a man seen as timid, ineffectual, effeminate, etc." I don't believe the Portuguese word carries all these nuances of meaning. Can you think of something else? |
| Correction: a new word FOR me. |
| After further investigation, it looks like there's a wide variation in the say this word is described in various dictionaries. For one, I realize now that Collins shows a different definition in its Complete and Unabridged edition of 2014, namely: "a feeble or ineffectual man or youth". The other definitions include: weak, cowardly, not brave, lacking courage, and indecisive. |
pushover
"Feckless" would deviate a little bit from what seems to be the idea of using that precise expression in that context. And that's because someone is a "banana" (including in politics)t not due to ineffectiveness and/or being irresponsible.
It conveys the idea of being weak, as well as unconcerned, disinterested, and listless.
Austria
Retd.T&I, Barrister & Austro-Advokat
Native in: English (Variants: British, Scottish)
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, French to English, and 5 more.
a turnip; BrE: a wet; a feckless fellow or character
Change the simile to a turnip, as was also the nickname of a well-known England soccer-team manager with cauliflower ears - or cabbage that, in UK schools, had no medical overtones and, paradoxically, was used to label both pupils and incompetent teachers.
Turnip A vegetable of very limited intelligence. Like George W. Bush, only smarter - a turnip knows enough to keep its mouth shut.
However "feckless," according to vocabulary.com, means "'ineffective', but is also used to describe someone who is irresponsible, incompetent, inept, or without purpose in life."
Portuguese to English, English to Portug
Native in: English
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese
Discussion
Both of my translator friends' preferred choice was "wimp", and that was my initial hunch too.
See additonal comments below.
banana:
6. Pessoa covarde. (Pessoa que tem medo de alguma coisa; cobarde, medricas.)
7. Pessoa incapaz de impor sua autoridade.
8. Pessoa sem energia e/ou iniciativa. (molenga)
https://www.aulete.com.br/banana
Note: Priberam does not contain definition #7. I'll probably add an equivalent, maybe "laxing" or "lenient", unless something better comes up.
It seems like none of the English translations encompass all three definitions. As I scrutinized each one, I realized that "wimp" and "milksop" are the best candidates, since they both include meanings #6 and 8. "Pushover", on the other hand, is limited to definition #8 (molenga). "Wet" is not a viable option since it means "drunk" in American English, e.g., a wet driver: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wet
wimp: cowardly (6), weak (8), or ineffectual (Merriam-Webster)
milksop: a feeble (8) or ineffectual man or youth (Collins Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014)
Elsewhere "milksop" is defined as:
- a weak (8) or cowardly (6) man (Merriam-Webster)
- an insulting word for a boy or man who is not brave (6) (Macmillan)
- a person who is indecisive and lacks courage (6) (Lexico/Oxford)
- a weak (8) or ineffectual person (Random House)
- a man lacking courage (6) and other qualities deemed manly (American Heritage)
- a man seen as timid, ineffectual, effeminate, etc.* (Collins)
* This definition is inconsistent with the one from the 12th edition.
As far as the other terms:
tosser: (UK) slang expression for an obnoxious jerk; (AUS) a useless idiot; a wanker
turnip: a stupid, boring, plain retarded person
wet: synonymous of "wimp" (EN-USA: wet -> drunk)
That's pretty much it.