Praised on the surface, the opposite underneath
With ironía you say something positive and mean the opposite. In Spanish the irony doesn't rest on context alone. There are set words and sentence patterns that are almost always ironic. If you know them, you hear the irony before the context gives it away.
Same sentence, two layers
Literal
¡Qué gran idea! Vamos mañana a la playa.
What a great idea! Let's go to the beach tomorrow.
Genuine agreement, the plan works.
Ironic
Sí, hombre, qué gran idea: a la playa con tormenta.
Oh sure, great idea, the beach in a thunderstorm.
Sí, hombre tips the sentence over before the praise even arrives.
Words that announce irony
In conversation these expressions are usually ironic. They open the sentence or make up the whole reply.
Set irony signals
| Expression | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sí, hombre / Sí, claro | No way. |
| ¡Lo que faltaba! | That's all we needed. |
| ¡Menudo + noun! | Some (bad) … that is. |
| ¡Muy bonito! | That's not on. |
In a sentence
Se ha ido la luz. ¡Lo que faltaba!
The power's gone. That's all we needed!
¡Menudo amigo eres! Ni me llamaste.
Some friend you are! You didn't even call me.
menudo doesn't mean small here; it sharpens the criticism.
Muy bonito, llegar a las tres sin avisar.
Very nice, coming home at three in the morning without a word.
Sentence patterns with built-in irony
ni que + imperfect subjunctive
Rejects an expectation by naming an absurd condition, like English as if I were …. The verb goes in the imperfect subjunctive.
¿Que te recuerde la reunión? ¡Ni que fuera tu secretaria!
Remind you about the meeting? As if I were your secretary!
anda que + verb
Mainly in Spain: the affirmative sentence complains that something did not happen.
¡Anda que me avisas de que venías!
You could have told me you were coming!
Faint praise
You praise something minor and say nothing about the main thing. The listener fills in the rest, just as with English damning with faint praise.
¿La cena? Bueno, la decoración era muy bonita.
The dinner? Well, the decor was very pretty.
Retranca
Retranca generally means a hidden intention behind harmless words. It is best known as a Galician trait: an answer that commits to nothing and leaves the person asking stuck with their own question. As the saying goes, if you meet a Galician on the stairs, you can't tell whether he's going up or down.
Unlike irony, retranca doesn't claim the opposite. It keeps both readings open, and that is exactly where the mockery lies.
Answers with retranca
—¿Va a llover mañana? —Si llueve, llueve, y si no, no.
Is it going to rain tomorrow? If it rains, it rains, and if it doesn't, it doesn't.
—¿Te gustó la obra? —¿Y a ti qué te pareció?
Did you like the play? And what did you think of it?
The counter-question gives nothing away and invites the other person to commit first.
