What does “coxinha” mean in Brazilian Portuguese?

Coxinha is one of Brazil’s classic snack-bar staples: shredded chicken wrapped in dough, shaped into a teardrop, breaded and fried. The name is literally “little thigh,” from coxa (thigh), because the shape imitates a chicken drumstick — right down to the pointed tip you hold. Ask for uma coxinha in any padaria or lanchonete and you will get exactly that.

Watch out for the second meaning. As slang that started in São Paulo, calling someone coxinha labels them a straight-laced, well-behaved, conservative type — roughly “square.” Several origin stories circulate (one links it to police officers grabbing a coxinha at the bakery) and none is settled, but the mocking political sense is now nationwide. The same root gives coxinha da asa, the chicken’s drummette.