verb/nounpl: mangles (noun)
estragar, esmagar, desfigurar, passar (roupa com cilindro)
1. to damage or destroy something by crushing, tearing, or twisting it badly
The car was mangled in the collision.
O carro foi destruído na colisão.
2. to spoil or ruin something through poor handling or performance
He mangled the pronunciation of the foreign word.
Ele estragou a pronúncia da palavra estrangeira.
3. to press and smooth clothes or linens using a mangle machine (historical)
She used a mangle to press the sheets.
Ela usou um cilindro de passar para alisar os lençóis.
4. a machine with two heavy rollers for pressing and smoothing clothes (noun)
Victorian households often had a mangle in the laundry room.
As casarões vitorianos frequentemente tinham um cilindro na sala de lavanderia.
The noun sense (mangle machine) is primarily historical, referring to Victorian-era laundry equipment. In modern English, the verb 'mangle' is commonly used metaphorically to describe ruined relationships, butchered language, or damaged objects. In Brazil, while 'estragar' is the primary translation, the machinery sense is rarely encountered in contemporary usage except in historical or museum contexts.
NYC Slang
trash, wreck, mess up (similar casual usage)
Related Idioms & Phrases
mangle one's words - dizer algo de forma confusa ou incorreta
mangled remains - restos destruídos/irreconhecíveis
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