Colloquial Expressions
"Conto" was the unofficial multiple of the escudo: 1 conto meant 1000$00, 2 contos meant 2000$00 and so on. The original expression was "conto de réis", which meant "one million réis". Since the escudo was worth 1000 réis (the older currency), therefore one "conto" was the same as a thousand escudos. The expression remained in usage after the advent of th euro, albeit less often, meaning €5, roughly worth 1000 escudos.
Read more about this topic: Portuguese Escudo
Famous quotes containing the words colloquial and/or expressions:
“Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.”
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975)
“Its idea of “production value” is spending a million dollars dressing up a story that any good writer would throw away. Its vision of the rewarding movie is a vehicle for some glamour-puss with two expressions and eighteen changes of costume, or for some male idol of the muddled millions with a permanent hangover, six worn-out acting tricks, the build of a lifeguard, and the mentality of a chicken-strangler.”
—Raymond Chandler (1888–1959)