English translation of "fare bon viso" - "resign yourself to accepting (one of the cigars)"

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160 months ago

Barbara Cochran (a guest user) asked this question:

Language pair:	Italian > English
Subject:	Other
Level of diffculty:	Easy / medium
Word or term in question:	fare bon viso
Context:	Piu tardi mio zio le chiese a che cosa avesse pensato in una giornata cosi memoranda. "Ho.
Keywords:	...pensato," rispose la signora Florence Page, "che oggi potresti anche fare buon viso ad uno dei sigari che il Kaiser ha regalato personalmente al povero Giorgio Wurts!" The day after the end of World War I, in Rome, the American ambassador and his wife are talking.

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Complete list of answers and comments

159 months ago

giulianoscarpa wrote:

gladly have

My comment:

"Fare buon viso a cattiva sorte" means "gladly accept the misfortune that has befallen you", therefore "far buon viso" means "to put on a smiling face in spite of" or "in respect of" whatever. Note this is just an example as the expression is fairly widely used just at its face value (no intended pun) of having a positive attitude or approach to whatever may be the case.

159 months ago

Giorgio Vellani wrote:

Make the best

My comment:

The term means adapting the best possible unpleasant situations that one has no possibility of avoiding or modify.

My references:

Giorgio Vellani

Freelancer translator (English/Portuguese/Italian)

160 months ago

Amanda Haste PhD, DipTrans(IoLET), MCIL, CL wrote:

[today would be a good day to] enjoy.....

160 months ago

Amanda Haste PhD, DipTrans(IoLET), MCIL, CL wrote:

to enjoy

My comment:

The basic meaning is "to welcome". As in the passage the reference is to a cigar, it is probably better to translate "today you could also enjoy one of the cigars..."

160 months ago

Amanda Haste PhD, DipTrans(IoLET), MCIL, CL wrote:

resign yourself to accepting (one of the cigars)

My comment:

My feeling is that in this context the meaning is that the uncle should conform to the circomstance by accepting one of the Kaiser's cigars.

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