quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa
Portuguese, proverb
quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa is spelled Q-U-A-N-D-O-O-G-A-T-O-S-A-I-O-S-R-A-T-O-S-F-A-Z-E-M-A-F-E-S-T-A (32 letters). Quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa is a Portuguese proverb meaning “when the cat's away the mice will play (in the absence of a controlling entity, subordinates will take advantage of circumstances)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
What does quando o gato sai, os ratos fazem a festa mean in English?
proverb
- 1
when the cat's away the mice will play (in the absence of a controlling entity, subordinates will take advantage of circumstances)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
phrase: 1. conforme o responsável por algo se ausenta os que podem tirar proveito disso o fazem
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.