cortar o mal pela raiz

Portuguese edit

Etymology edit

Literally, to cut the evil by the root.

Verb edit

cortar o mal pela raiz (first-person singular present corto o mal pela raiz, first-person singular preterite cortei o mal pela raiz, past participle cortado o mal pela raiz)

  1. (idiomatic) to attack or destroy what is causing a problem rather than the problem itself
  2. (idiomatic) to attack or destroy the nucleus of a problem

Conjugation edit