Charles Davis Sep 14, 2016:

@Marta That's what I suspected it might mean, and it would fit the reference to veiled bullying, and the fact that it says "bofetón", not "bofetada". Perhaps you might get the message across by putting "friendly" in inverted commas: "a 'friendly' slap".

Marta Maojo Sep 14, 2016:

I would call it a ''supposedly friendly slap'. That is a little clunky, of course, but captures the veiled nature of the act.

maryblack (asker) Sep 11, 2016:

Oops! Education, not electronics! Thanks Charles. I was also confused because there is nothing veiled about it, but hey... I'm just a translator.

Charles Davis Sep 10, 2016:

I'm also intrigued by the Electronics in the subject heading. How does that come into it?

Charles Davis Sep 10, 2016:

@Mary Your question puzzles me a little because "bofetada feliz" is definitely used in Spain in the same sense as "happy slapping" in (UK) English: people randomly assault someone and members of the group film the assault with their mobile phones. Is that what the expression seems to mean in your text? As Peter says, that's not veiled bullying, it's very direct bullying. But maybe your author is using "bofetón feliz" in a different sense, perhaps for a slap ostensibly given in fun but actually designed to hurt, or something like that?

peter jackson Sep 10, 2016:

@asker Have just re-read your question. This doesn't seem very "veiled" but is obviously where the term comes from in Spanish.