What does “virar” mean in Brazilian Portuguese?

Virar starts out meaning “to turn”: vira à direita, virar a página. Brazilians extended it to becoming — virar médico (become a doctor), virou moda (it became a trend), a chuva virou tempestade. It is the casual alternative to tornar-se and ficar, and unlike English “turn into,” it usually takes the new thing bare, with no article: ele virou lenda, not uma lenda.

Two more everyday senses ride along: virar a noite is to stay up all night, and to virar a drink is to down it in one. This clip is a masterclass in hinting at a guest who will not leave, and it ends with the host’s warning that after midnight eu viro lobisomem — “I turn into a werewolf.”