Commonly associated with the concept of cultural cannibalism, the artistic and critical legacy of Haroldo de Campos (1929–2003) has constituted a significant metaphor in translation studies. Despite growing interest that this concept has received in the European and North American discourse of the discipline, the idea of anthropophagy spreads unchecked, circulating freely and contributing to a vast array of analytical approaches. Given a noticeable lack of in-depth insights into the nature of de Campos’ theory, this process has resulted in a gradual loss of its original specificity. This article aims to provide an analysis of instances of the use of the cannibalistic metaphor in the English discourse of translation studies, to help understand the refractions detectable in the reception of de Campos’ concepts.