Fare-thee-well

[JPablo]

fare-thee-well or fare-you-well
1. A state of perfection.
2. The maximum effect.

What would be a good Spanish translation?

(What is the common register of this in English?)

[Rusty]

(to a/the) state of perfection
(to an/the) utmost degree
(to a/the) flawlessness
(to) perfection
to a tee

[JPablo]

Thank you Rusty,

You think that "a la perfección" or "al máximo" would work in Spanish?

And... is it a bit highbrow expression in English?

[Rusty]

Yes, fare-thee-well is a highbrow expression.

I don't see anything wrong with the Spanish equivalents you proposed, but something like 'al no va más' might also work.

[JPablo]

Ah, buena idea. Supongo que algo como "al non plus ultra" puede funcionar en algún contexto.

Gracias os sean dadas...

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by JPablo

(What is the common register of this in English?)

Unused. The only collocation of those words in the BNC are two quotes from Shakespeare and one reference to a work by Byron, and in all three cases the meaning is more vaya con Dios.

[Don José]

After reading this post, I remembered learning a song when being a kid with "fare-thee-well" (or perhaps "farewell").

I've been browsing and found some songs with that expression.
Curiously, here they use both "farewell to you" and "fare-thee-well", and the meaning seems to be a way of saying goodbye.

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.n...25709000436734

However, that's "my song", using fare thee well:

[wrholt]

I've heard or read "fare-thee-well" = "extremely" occasionally here in the US; it's not commonly used, but it isn't unknown either.

[JPablo]

Ok, thank you all.
I see that Merriam Websters gives
fare-thee-well: the utmost degree <researched the story to a fare–thee–well>
2
: a state of perfection <imitated the speaker's pompous manner to a fare–thee–well>

Variants of FARE-THEE-WELL

fare–thee–well also fare–you–well

So, although BNC only gives a couple of quotations with the "you" version... I would not "discard" this expression...

[pjt33]

Originally Posted by JPablo

So, although BNC only gives a couple of quotations with the "you" version... I would not "discard" this expression...

COCA doesn't have any relevant examples either. Use it if you want, but bear in mind that most of the native speakers who don't respond by asking what you mean are probably guessing from context.