What does “treta” mean in Brazilian Portuguese?

Treta is the Brazilian word for trouble between people: an argument, a row, a bit of drama. Rolou uma treta means something kicked off; tá dando treta warns that it is about to. It stretches from a serious falling-out to two children squabbling over an ice cream, which is why it is the word Brazilians reach for where English would say “beef” or “drama.”

The older meaning is a fencing move — a feint used to fool an opponent — which is why dictionaries still gloss treta as a ruse or a lie; it reached Portuguese from Spanish. Portugal kept a different branch of the same word: there da treta means shoddy or worthless (um filme da treta), where a Brazilian ear would expect a fight. Same four letters, two quite different complaints.