Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
dar la cara
English translation:
stand up for himself / yourself / oneself
Added to glossary by
JM González
Mar 12, 2016 23:27
8 yrs ago
29 viewers *
Spanish term
United States
dar la cara
Spanish to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
expressions
Say someone is accused of something and this person goes and "shows his face" (dio la cara), to stand up to the accusation and let them know he's not afraid or that he won't hide.What expressions work in English?
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+5
51 mins
Selected
stand up for himself / yourself / oneself
In certain situations "face the music" or "take it on the chin" are perfect for this. They imply, in effect, resigning yourself to the inevitable rather than defending yourself, accepting an unpleasant outcome with dignity and not running away or hiding.
However, I tend to agree with Gallagy that such an effective admission of guilt, or of inevitable punishment, are not necessarily implied by the context. I feel "brazen out" introduces an element of shamelessness, however, and would prefer "stand up for himself" (or whichever pronoun fits the context), which seems to me to have the right mixture of dignity, defiance and bravery.
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Note added at 58 mins (2016-03-13 00:25:17 GMT)
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In another situation "stand up and be counted" can be a good option.
Strictly speaking the choice depends not on whether he actually did it but whether he's going to claim he didn't do it.
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Note added at 1 hr (2016-03-13 00:38:03 GMT)
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Your phrase "stand up to the accusation" implies to me that he's not just going to accept defeat.
Another expression that occurs to me for this context is "tough it out", which implies courage, resilience and defiance.
However, I tend to agree with Gallagy that such an effective admission of guilt, or of inevitable punishment, are not necessarily implied by the context. I feel "brazen out" introduces an element of shamelessness, however, and would prefer "stand up for himself" (or whichever pronoun fits the context), which seems to me to have the right mixture of dignity, defiance and bravery.
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Note added at 58 mins (2016-03-13 00:25:17 GMT)
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In another situation "stand up and be counted" can be a good option.
Strictly speaking the choice depends not on whether he actually did it but whether he's going to claim he didn't do it.
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Note added at 1 hr (2016-03-13 00:38:03 GMT)
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Your phrase "stand up to the accusation" implies to me that he's not just going to accept defeat.
Another expression that occurs to me for this context is "tough it out", which implies courage, resilience and defiance.
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Muriel Vasconcellos
1 hr
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Thanks, Muriel!
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| agree |
Denis Zabelin
8 hrs
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Thanks, sidewinder :)
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| agree |
Luke Mersh
8 hrs
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Thanks, Luke :)
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| neutral |
Yvonne Gallagher
: this doesn't work at all for "not hiding away" or "not afraid"
9 hrs
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? I don't understand. If you stand up for yourself you don't hide away, no?
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| agree |
John Anderson
13 hrs
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Thanks, John :)
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| agree |
neilmac
: Something like "stood up for himself and had a word with them" ...
17 hrs
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Yes, something like that would do the trick, I think. Many thanks, Neil :)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "this is what I used in the end. Thank you very, very much and sorry to everyone for the misunderstanding."
+2
6 mins
John Anderson
Germany
Germany
Native in Spanish
&
English
Works in field
Germany
John Anderson
Native in: English 
, Spanish
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, French to English, and 4 more.
Face the music
Did he do it though?
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
David Ronder
31 mins
|
| neutral |
Robert Carter
: Not if he didn't do it though.
40 mins
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absolutely, hence the comment
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| agree |
franglish
10 hrs
|
7 mins
Francois Boye
United States
United States
Specializes in field
United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French 
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
28
to face/suffer the consequences
my take
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
8 mins
Darius Saczuk
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
The Slanguage Buff
Native in: Polish (Variant: Standard-Poland) , English (Variant: US)
Works in: Polish to English, Spanish to English, English, and 4 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
134
take it on the chin
one option
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Note added at 10 mins (2016-03-12 23:37:14 GMT)
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http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/take-i...
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Note added at 10 mins (2016-03-12 23:37:32 GMT)
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informal› to accept unpleasant events bravely and without complaining
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Note added at 10 mins (2016-03-12 23:37:14 GMT)
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http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/take-i...
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Note added at 10 mins (2016-03-12 23:37:32 GMT)
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informal› to accept unpleasant events bravely and without complaining
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
+1
25 mins
Yvonne Gallagher
Ireland
Ireland
Native in English
Specializes in field
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: UK, US, Canadian, Irish)
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
19
brazen it out
You haven't said if he's guilty or not? The other answers all assume he's guilty
This works whether he is guilty or not of what he's accused of
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/brazen-...
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/brazen
Idioms:
brazen it out or through, to face something boldly or shamelessly.
This works whether he is guilty or not of what he's accused of
http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/american/brazen-...
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/brazen
Idioms:
brazen it out or through, to face something boldly or shamelessly.
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Robert Carter
: This implies shamelessness though, which may not be the case either.
23 mins
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I'd say it means open defiance more than shamelessness
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| agree |
Carol Gullidge
: yep, this "brazening" has no connection whatsoever with being a brazen hussy! It also works for all the possible scenarios (guilty or not)//actually, I'm not totally sure, as this could imply an element of denial as well...
1 day 13 hrs
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Thanks so much! I truly believe this is the best fit. "Not afraid to show your face" is really what we have been given as "context"
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45 mins
Robert Carter
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Works in field
Mexico
Translating full-time since 1998
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
120
to face (up to) someone / something
It's a little difficult without having the actual text, as there are probably numerous ways to tackle the expression. I can't think of one that accurately translates the phrase directly in any context, but these are a few options that more or less equate to what it means:
to face someone / something
to face up to someone / something
to stand up to someone / something
So you could say: "he plans to face his accuser" or "he's going to face up to his accuser"
There's also:
to face someone /something head-on
or even
to have the guts/balls to face someone
There are also a number of other ways to tackle the phrase when it's negative, i.e. "no quería dar la cara", for example "he wimped out" or "he chickened out", etc., it really depends on how you intend to phrase your sentence.
to face someone / something
to face up to someone / something
to stand up to someone / something
So you could say: "he plans to face his accuser" or "he's going to face up to his accuser"
There's also:
to face someone /something head-on
or even
to have the guts/balls to face someone
There are also a number of other ways to tackle the phrase when it's negative, i.e. "no quería dar la cara", for example "he wimped out" or "he chickened out", etc., it really depends on how you intend to phrase your sentence.
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
31 mins
Jesus Duran Fernandez
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
Spain
The power of the word
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, Spanish to German, and 1 more.
to face something
To accept the responsibility
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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-03-13 01:49:51 GMT)
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To stand up to face the accusation.
As our peer commenter says theyncan not be to facebup to or to face the gults they means enfrentarse no dar la cara.
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Note added at 2 hrs (2016-03-13 01:49:51 GMT)
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To stand up to face the accusation.
As our peer commenter says theyncan not be to facebup to or to face the gults they means enfrentarse no dar la cara.
9 hrs
Ana Vozone
Specializes in field
Will do!
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: European/Portugal)
Works in: English to Portuguese, French to Portuguese, German to Portuguese, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
20
to own up
https://www.google.pt/search?q=www google com&aq=0&oq=www.go...
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Note added at 9 hrs (2016-03-13 09:01:22 GMT)
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... owned up "to" what he had done
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Note added at 9 hrs (2016-03-13 09:01:22 GMT)
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... owned up "to" what he had done
Example sentence:
Dan could have made this whole thing go away simply by owning up
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
10 hrs
show up/show face (in this context)
As Robin suggests in the discussion, there are many, many ways to express the notion, depending on the specific circumstances and context...
"After finding out they had accused him, he decided to show face and talk to them"
"After they accused him and he found out, he showed up to discuss it with them"
...etc.
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Note added at 10 hrs (2016-03-13 10:16:39 GMT)
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PS: I don't think we can safely use any of the "own up/take it on the chin" type responses, as all we know from the small excerpt provided is that the person has been accused, not that they have actually committed the act to which the text refers.
"After finding out they had accused him, he decided to show face and talk to them"
"After they accused him and he found out, he showed up to discuss it with them"
...etc.
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Note added at 10 hrs (2016-03-13 10:16:39 GMT)
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PS: I don't think we can safely use any of the "own up/take it on the chin" type responses, as all we know from the small excerpt provided is that the person has been accused, not that they have actually committed the act to which the text refers.
Note from asker:
| thank you! |
Discussion
I believe "he showed (up)" or "he showed his face" would work fine. It's very colloquial. But I'm liking "he faced them" or "he stood up for himself" too.
We need to see "dar la cara" in it's full source-text context. Not just the sentence in which the phrase occurs, but also with a description of the wider context; explaining, for example, whether this individual is accepting blame or denying it, whether (s)he is remorseful or defiant, whether the accusation is true or false.
I suggest you come back and add a full quote from the Spanish ST, rather than trying to explain what you think it means, in English, and expecting us to guess.