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In Persian we have a word to describe this conflicting state:

"facing a situation that makes one smile even though it's not a good situation, and it might even have negative effect on them."

For example, you see a funny caricature about a new law passed by parliament which you know will have negative consequences on the whole economy/society/etc. But the caricature is funny, and makes you laugh while at the bottom of your heart you know that you will be f*cked up."

The word in Persian is "تلخند" which means “a smile that tastes bitter (to the person smiling).” I was curious to know if there is any noun/adjective for this concept.

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  • I don't know of a single word equivalent in English. There's the term "gallows humor", which I think has similar connotations.
    – user888379
    Commented May 7 at 12:54
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    It's not very clear what is meant. There's a wide range of possible reactions depending on how serious it is and why exactly you smile/your precise attitude to the different components. Wry or rueful suggested below aren't as serious as gallows humour or black humour. And there's a difference between laughing at a joke that's in bad taste, laughing to cover up sadness or anger (as at a funeral), or smiling because you take a long-range view that's detached from any immediate pain and recognise something eternal about human nature even in the immediately tragic (maybe cosmic irony).
    – Stuart F
    Commented May 7 at 16:46
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    Not a word but the idiom of "a smile that doesn't reach the eyes" might cover it.
    – Criggie
    Commented May 7 at 21:44

2 Answers 2

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I think the best translation is 'a wry smile' or 'wry humour'.

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Most likely, the word you're looking for is an adjective modifying smile or grin, as I can't think of a single word for smile that means what you want.

One option is rueful smile. Rueful literally means feeling pain or regret. But Wiktionary and the Oxford English Dictionary both note that the connotation is sometimes of wry humor, or humor within the regret:

Causing, feeling, or expressing regret or sorrow, especially in a wry or humorous way. (Wiktionary)

  1. Expressive or suggestive of penitence, remorse, sorrow, or regret. Now also: expressing sorrow or regret in a humorous way; wryly apologetic. (Oxford English Dictionary)

2009 It is embarrassing to admit it, but most people we talk to respond with rueful smiles of recognition. J. Olds & R. S. Schwartz, Lonely Amer. vii.124

Another example is from The Guardian, where Enrico Letta, then prime minister of Italy, gets vital support against a vote of no confidence from Berlusconi. He grins. But, behind his rueful grin, we may see that his situation is precarious or inconvenient:

There's applause in the Senate as Berlusconi says he will support Enrico Letta -- although I think I saw Letta pull a rather rueful grin.

And if this answer doesn't seem to quite fit what you want, it provides a formula for getting to other options: wry smile, bittersweet smile, rueful grin, and so on.

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