# Βλέποντας και κάνοντας



## Konstantinos

Πως μπορεί να μεταφραστεί το "βλέποντας και κάνοντας" στα Αγγλικά; Το "play it by ear" νομίζω ακούγεται κάπως αρνητικά, του στυλ "θα κάνω του κεφαλιού μου".

Ευχαριστώ εκ των προτέρων.


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## shawnee

Και όμως ακόμα προτιμώ το, "play it by ear", που δεν το θεωρό τόσο αρνητηκό. Δοκίμασε επίσης,
"We'll see how we go".


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## Helleno File

Very interesting Konstantinos. I agree with Shawnee.  "Play it by ear" - a common expression in BE - can be positive or negative.  As with everything it depends on tone of voice and context.  So it could vary from "I'm adapting what I do to changing circumstances", through "I'm not sure what will happen"  even up to "Don't tell anyone but I don't really know what I'm doing".  Shawnee's "we'll see how we go" is warm, familiar and positive.

My School and Office Μπαπινιώτης gives "για ενέργειες που προσαρμόζονται στις εκάστοτε συνθήκες" suggesting that the phrase in Greek only has a positive meaning.

Could someone explain about "θα κάνω του κεφαλιού μου".


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## ioanell

Helleno File said:


> Could someone explain about "θα κάνω του κεφαλιού μου".



Just a periphrastic try: I ‘ll do whatever randomly occurs to my mind, without reckoning any consequences.


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## shawnee

ioanell said:


> Just a periphrastic try: I ‘ll do whatever randomly occurs to my mind, without reckoning any consequences.


Another that comes to mind is; "I'll make it up as I go".


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## Helleno File

Thanks ioanell and shawnee.  I suspected that would be what it meant.  In BE we have have a colloquial phrase - to do something "off the top of your head".  It just means either without any preparation or without giving any thought to something not necessarily involving risk or negative consequences and I think it can include both your versions. Without a verb it often introduces a quick approximate estimate of something.  E.g. "How much do you think we would have to pay to fix the roof?" "Off the top of my head... £300."


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## ioanell

shawnee said:


> Another that comes to mind is; "I'll make it up as I go".



If I'm not mistaken, your phrase rather refers to the expression "Βλέποντας και κάνοντας". My own translation above had to do with the expression "θα κάνω του κεφαλιού μου".



Helleno File said:


> Without a verb it often introduces a quick approximate estimate of something. E.g. "How much do you think we would have to pay to fix the roof?" "Off the top of my head... £300."



'Πάνω-κάτω' is the Greek equivalent of this phrase.


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## Αγγελος

To me, θα κάνω του κεφαλιού μου means "I will do whatever I feel like doing, not heeding anyone's advice." It is an expression of recklessness.
Tράβα μπρος και μη σε μέλει /Θάρρος η ζωή μας θέλει [...]
Τράβα μπρος και του κεφαλιού σου κάνε / Τράβα μπρος κι όσα έρθουν κι όσα πάνε...
is a song from a well-known 1960 Greek movie, where a young woman sneaks into a Greek Navy ship, where her boy-friend is doing military service. The words clearly mean "Push ahead and don't worry about anything; push ahead and do whatever comes to your mind, and let the consequences fall as they may."


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