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I'm trying to understand the meaning of the clause si fece which might be an idiom. Seems like reflexive form of farsi, but hard to understand the meaning within the sentences such as :

Ordinò una limonata, andò alla toilette, si sciacquò mani e viso, si fece portare un sigaro ....

or

Lindsay era nervosa e si fece una doccia per rilassarsi

or

Smisero di usare il cimitero e la terra si fece arida.

or

E si fece saltare le cervella a sessant'anni.

Does that mean dirigersi o diventarsi a una cosa ..?

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    It's not *facersi, but farsi, which in turn is the reflexive form of fare. – DaG Jul 14 '19 at 12:51
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    "Si fece" is the 3rd singular form of "passato remoto" of "farsi". It has different meanings depending on the sentence. "Farsi arida", as you say, is the same as "diventare arida". "Farsi una doccia" means "to have a shower". The other ones have the structure "farsi" + infinitive which more or less mean "to have someone do something for oneself". – Charo♦ Jul 15 '19 at 7:56
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    @Charo Sounds like a good answer. – Federico Poloni Jul 15 '19 at 8:37
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    @FedericoPoloni: I've converted my comment to answer because I think it's better that an unanswered question. But I believe it should be more elaborated to be a good answer. – Charo♦ Jul 15 '19 at 10:34
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    You may have an idea of the number of different uses of this verb from the sheer size of a dictionary's article on fare. Charo's answer explains which of those uses appear in your sentences. – DaG Jul 15 '19 at 10:46
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"Si fece" is the third singular form of "passato remoto" of "farsi", which implies that all your sentences express an action that happened in the past. It has different meanings depending on the sentence:

  • "Farsi arida", as you say, is the same as "diventare arida", with the meaning of "to become".
  • "Farsi una doccia" means "to have a shower".
  • The other ones have the structure "farsi" + infinitive which more or less mean "to have someone do something for oneself".
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