Chasco
 

This is a discussion thread for the Daily Spanish Word for April 1, 2009

chasco (masculine noun (el)) — practical joke, joke, trick. Look up chasco in the dictionary

Me dio un buen chasco al esconderme la ropa mientras me bañaba.
He really played a joke on me by hiding my clothes while I was taking a bath.

Interesting. Never heard it used that way. I've heard "Broma" more in Spain.

To me a "Chasco" is a disappointment as in the definition below from the Maria Moliner dictionary.

chasco1 (de or. expresivo; "Dar, Darse, Llevarse, Sufrir, Tener un") m. Impresión que recibe alguien cuando espera una cosa agradable, que va a producirle placer, etc., y resulta que no ocurre o que no es agradable o que, por el contrario, es desagradable.

Right. Unless the bot is playing tricks today, out of all days in the year. :rolleyes:

That's what I thought at first but apparently, it doesn't seem to be. Just had a look at the RAE and it says "Burla o engaño que se hace a alguien"

Ambarina - I like you. :) I'm glad you've joined us in the forums - I'm learning as much from you already as I do from Chileno and Angelica and Rusty! :) Will you please give me a link to that dictionary you're using? After initial trepidation, I have come to enjoy using the RAE, but would always like to have an alternative for comparison purposes. Thanks!

My bad, I did not go to RAE. Just relied on what (little) I knew about the word. :-)

@laepelba: She went to RAE. :)

That's why now in chile they are using chascarros when they talk about tv bloopers ...

I wonder when was that word accepted by the RAE.

Es una dia de los chascos?

jajajaja I guess! :D :lol::lol:

She also mentioned a different dictionary ... Maria Moliner?

I agree with Ambarina that the most common idea for "chasco" is a disappointment.

--¿Cómo estuvo la obra de teatro? --Fue todo un chasco.
--How was the play? --It was a huge disappointment

The idea of "chasco" as "burla" is clear in the sense of "mockery". Despite the dictionary, I have always heard "chasco" used is a synonym of "chiste" or "broma" that one endures, not something one does to others.
The most common kind of sentence I've heard with this meaning is rather like:

"Me llevé un chasco cuando salí del baño y vi que me había escondido mi ropa."
"I felt mocked when I came out of the bath and saw he had hidden my clothes."


@Lou Ann: The María Moliner is a very serious dictionary (to many specialists, better than the RAE's), and I doubt there is a link to it. As far as I know, it can only be bought as a printed book. And one has to be careful... there are a couple of apocryphal versions of it.