Chasco

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.

Right. Thank you for conserving a clear mind. :-)

Burla as in mockery, and not as practical joke.

And, yes. She mentioned Maria Moliner too, just that as per quote I thought laepelba was referring to RAE... :o

So I have had a full intention of looking up a bookstore in Lima or in Rivera (Uruguay) this summer and coming home with some stuff that I wouldn't be able to find in the U.S. Is this Maria Moliner dictionary something that would be so big and heavy that I wouldn't want to bring it home in my suitcase?

@Lou Ann: I think it will be very bulky and heavy indeed, but I think you can cast a glance on it in Amazon or Barnes & Noble. The publishing house is called "Gredos". Don't buy the "Edición Abreviada".

The expression chasco is most used when you did something bad. Good it's at least in my country.

La clase hacía un chasco de la profesora. ¡Ellos ponía una chincheta en la silla a ella!

Yes. It's accurate.

wasn't there another Daily Spanish Word that had a word meaning joke? Oh, never mind, it's broma, :P

No me gusta la pelíqula; el fin fue chasco.

Yes it were.

A singular subject takes a singular verb.
they were
he was