Diário de um cafajeste sonhador e brincalhão

What does “cafajeste” mean in Brazilian Portuguese?

In Brazilian Portuguese, a cafajeste is a scoundrel — a boorish, dishonorable rogue, and most often a smooth-talking womanizer who treats people badly. It’s a real insult, but it can also be worn with a wink: calling yourself a cafajeste paints you as a lovable bad boy rather than a villain. It works as both a noun (“he’s a cafajeste”) and an adjective (“that’s a cafajeste move”).

Here the speaker narrates his own “Diário de um cafajeste” — diary of a cafajeste — stacking it with other self-labels like chucro (rough, uncouth) and brincalhão (a joker), then softening the whole thing as a sonhador, a dreamer. That mix is the trick: a word that means “cad” gets played for charm. The dictionary register is firmly derogatory (“boor,” “scoundrel,” “lady-killer”), and its etymology is unknown. Related forms include cafajestada and cafajestagem — a low-down thing to do.