Literal translation
to break into a great sweat, the three sweats
Meaning
to be scared stiff
Explanation
The expression rests on the verb susa, to sweat, and its derivative tressusa, which describes profuse perspiration soaking right through the body. The variant lei tres susour plays on a folk etymology, as if one sweated three times over, though it is really just an intensified form of the same root. In both cases, the image describes sweating so heavy that it becomes the most visible physical symptom of intense fear: the body reacts before words can express the emotion. It is used to say someone was gripped by sudden terror, so much so that they were drenched, whether facing a danger, bad news, or a fright recalled after the fact. The register is familiar and vivid, common in oral storytelling about a scare, where the emphasis on sweating comically underscores just how frightening the moment felt.