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This is not a deep language question, but maybe interesting for learning everyday Spanish. Yesterday in a restaurant buffet I heard someone say something like following:

Voy a aprovechar estos camarones.

(Please correct, if it should include me or se or de also.)

A direct translation might possibly be

I am going to take advantage (of the opportunity) of these shrimps

Which sounds slightly comical in English.

An ordinary sentence in English would be

I think I'll grab (or take, or try) some of these shrimps.

The question is if the original phrasing with "aprovechar" is completely idiomatic and ordinary, or unusual, or comedic. (since shrimp are not such a great opportunity to seize upon. Ok, they might be).

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I think the person who said that just thought that if he did not take the shrimps, they would end up in the bin.

This seems the same usage as when you say that you're going to make use of the leftovers of some dish to make another dish, instead of throwing those leftovers to the garbage bin. This is said "aprovechar las sobras" in Spanish.

So just picture the same scenario. The person just did not want the shrimps to end up in the garbage bin so he "put them to good use" by eating them.

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  • In English, in this context, "I'm going to put these shrimp to good use" would be slightly humorous. Do you think in Spanish it's not, it's just a plain, ordinary sentence? y/n?
    – Sam
    Feb 12, 2021 at 18:50
  • @Sam it could be, depending on the intentions and intonation of the speaker. But per se I think it's not an intrinsic humorous sentence.
    – Charlie
    Feb 12, 2021 at 18:54
  • Maybe the person doesn’t get to eat shrimps very often, or really likes them? In which case, a translation could be ‘I’m going to make the most of these shrimps’. Followed by a second helping, as it’s a buffet ;-)
    – Traveller
    Feb 13, 2021 at 18:03
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I think the appropriate translation might be

I am going to enjoy those shrimps

You might be interested in the common related expression buen provecho which the DLE defines

buen provecho

  1. expr. coloq. U. para manifestar el deseo de que algo sea útil o conveniente a la salud o bienestar de alguien, frecuentemente dirigiéndose a quienes están comiendo o bebiendo.

So you say it to someone who is about to eat a plateful of those shrimps.

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