to make fair weather

OpheliaLiege

OpheliaLiege

Senior Member
USA
Spanish Caribbean
"And I then published the letter of his friend, Andrew Stewart, of Pennsylvania, to show that he was making fair weather with the North on that subject for Gen. Taylor, by endeavoring to prove from Gen. Taylor's own letter that he would not veto it if adopted. I certainly never suspected him of favoring the Wilmot Proviso."

And what Southern Whig ever suspected him-and yet they are perfectly willing that Mr. Stewart and other Whig members of Congress from the free states should make fair weather for Gen. Taylor at the North." del libro To the Whigs of Vermont, 1848.

Y luego publiqué la carta de su amigo, Andrew Stewart, de Pensilvania, para demostrar que estaba haciendo [??] con el Norte sobre ese tema para el general Taylor, al tratar de demostrar con la propia carta del general Taylor que el no lo vetaría si se adoptara. Ciertamente, nunca sospeché que estuviera a favor de la condición de Wilmot."

Y lo que los Whigs del Sur alguna vez sospecharon de él, y sin embargo, están perfectamente dispuestos a que el Sr. Stewart y otros miembros Whig del Congreso de los estados libres hagan [???] para el General Taylor en el Norte.

Una de las definiciones de "to make fair-weather" es to flatter, ¿es ese el significado aquí?
 
    • loyal only during a time of success​

    Habitualmente utilizado como adjetivo (a fair weather friend; un amigo interesado; un amigo por interés), en los casos que describes (make/making a fair weather with/for) diría que se refiere a plantear o realizar un acercamiento interesado con/hacia.
     
    OpheliaLiege said:
    "And I then published the letter of his friend, Andrew Stewart, of Pennsylvania, to show that he was making fair weather with the North on that subject for Gen. Taylor, by endeavoring to prove from Gen. Taylor's own letter that he would not veto it if adopted. I certainly never suspected him of favoring the Wilmot Proviso."

    And what Southern Whig ever suspected him-and yet they are perfectly willing that Mr. Stewart and other Whig members of Congress from the free states should make fair weather for Gen. Taylor at the North."
    Click to expand...
    Does "his" and "he" in this passage refer to General Taylor, or to someone else? And does General Taylor refer to Zachary Taylor? It sounds like a reference to Taylor's candidacy for president, in which the Wilmot Proviso was a key issue. From Wikipedia:
    Many southerners believed that Taylor supported slavery and its expansion into the new territory absorbed from Mexico, and some were angered when Taylor suggested that if elected president he would not veto the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed against such an expansion. This position did not enhance his support from activist antislavery elements in the Northern United States, as they wanted Taylor to speak out strongly in support of the Proviso, not simply fail to veto it. Most abolitionists did not support Taylor, since he was a slave-owner.
    Click to expand...
    If this is the case, it sounds like Stewart was campaigning for Taylor among Northern voters, or talking up Taylor to influential Northerners. Something like ensalzar in Spanish, perhaps.

    However, my interpretation is full of semi-educated guessing; the phrase could just as easily have the opposite meaning. You should confirm the context and help us better understand this somewhat confusing text full of dated language and specific historical references.
     
    fenixpollo said:
    Does "his" and "he" in this passage refer to General Taylor, or to someone else? And does General Taylor refer to Zachary Taylor? It sounds like a reference to Taylor's candidacy for president, in which the Wilmot Proviso was a key issue. From Wikipedia:

    If this is the case, it sounds like Stewart was campaigning for Taylor among Northern voters, or talking up Taylor to influential Northerners. Something like ensalzar in Spanish, perhaps.

    However, my interpretation is full of semi-educated guessing; the phrase could just as easily have the opposite meaning. You should confirm the context and help us better understand this somewhat confusing text full of dated language and specific historical references.
    Click to expand...
    Yes, it is in reference to Zachary Taylor the presidential candidate [1848] for the Whig party of which the writer is the representative for Vermont.

    The phrase [making fair weather] may be referring to this entry
    WEATHER. To make fair weather. To flatter; to give flattering representations, to make the best of
    matters.     [From: A Glossary; Or, Collection of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions, 1867].

    Creo que es eso. Muchas gracias a los dos y gracias @fenixpollo por tu contribución de historia.

    ​

     
    Tal vez este extracto ayude a entender mejor el sentido del original:

    The Southern Whigs are very willing that such letters as Stewart's (...) should circulate to make fair weather at the North for Gen. Taylor; but they are not deceived by them. They know Gen. Taylor.​

    Supongo que estoy condicionado por mi lectura inicial, pero sigo percibiendo un matiz que sugiere un "flattering a medida", una realidad maquillada. De hecho lo que el texto más amplio parece decir es que al Norte se le está sugiriendo que Taylor no vetará leyes basadas en la Wilmot proviso mientras que el Sur tiene claro que Taylor sí las vetará, con lo que ese making fair weather suena más bien a algo así como "contar una película". No sé si embelesar/seducir funcionaría aquí -y lamento de antemano si esta rallada mía resulta misleading;

    Pej.,
    Los Whigs del Sur aceptan de buen grado que circulen cartas como la(s) de Stewart que puedan seducir al Norte a favor del General Taylor. Pero no se dejan engañar por ellas; ellos conocen (bien) al General Taylor.

    (...) que con sus medias verdades puedan seducir al Norte...

    Una expresión más limpia como ese "ensalzar" que sugiere fenix creo que podría llevar a equívoco; el Sur no es que no ensalce a Taylor; lo que ocurre es que el Sur no se deja engañar por la realidad maquillada que se le cuenta al Norte para seducirlo; ellos saben que Taylor hará lo contrario de lo que esas cartas le cuentan al Norte que hará.

    En fin, lo dicho; con mis disculpas de antemano si estoy liando la cuestión en vez de ayudar a aclararla.
     
    Flatter might be one way of understanding it, but in this context it just means to establish a good relationship. This could be done through flattery or by other means.
     
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