Timo, engaño, truco, trampa

Question

All of these mean trick right?

Creo que fue un timo.

Timo, truco are similar.

Engaño is more like deceit, harsher than timo and truco,

Trampa is a trap, but can also mean trick. All of these are right?

Gracias....

Answer 1

Cheat, swindle, scam, sting, hustle, rip-off, hanky-panky...

Todos significan timo, ¿no?

Why do you guys panic when you see that Spanish has synonyms? English has surely over 30 ways of expressing the four words you quoted in the title. You need to learn these words in context.

I'm not in a panic, but I am asking questions. Is that a panic to you? Yes that all means timo, but what about engaño, harsher than timo right? I'm saying they aren't all exactly the same thing but each has there own unique use and I want to make sure - jeezzle, Apr 19, 2011

I have each use down correctly. - jeezzle, Apr 19, 2011

I completley understand Jeezzle's quest to learn the subtle differences between each word. It's great to have the forum and be able to ask these things. - --Mariana--, Apr 20, 2011

I didn't sense any panic in jeezzle's question, it was very calm and reasoned. - amykay, Apr 20, 2011

Answer 2

Ok, maybe panic was not the right word, but would you be able to objectively put all these terms in order of increasing harshness?

artifice, baloney, bamboozlement, bill of goods, bunco, chicanery, con, con game, cover up, cozening, deceit, deception, dirty pool, dirty trick, dodge, double-dealing, fake, fast one, fast shuffle, fix, flimflam, frame, fraud, gyp, hanky-panky, hoax, hoaxing, humbug, hustle , imposture, jazz, jive, plant, put-on, racket, rip-off, run around, scam, sell, shady deal, sham, shell game, snow job, spoof, sting, stunt, swindle, trickery, whitewash, wrong

What I'm trying to say is that the differences between these terms are often rather connotative than denotative, which means that it is very hard -if not impossible sometimes- to accurately classify them according to some objective criteria.

Anyway, with timo, someone ends up with less (or nothing) than expected, usually in terms of money or promises. Engaño involves any lie, regardless of the reasons. Truco involves deceiving, for whichever the reason. Trampa involves breaking any rule, code of conduct, contract... and any catch, obviously. The amount of overlapping is considerable, and I doubt that my attempts at describing them are accurate enough to be used as a rule, but there you go...

You have to understand that immersing myself learning the nuances is a miserable experience. I mean I love it, but so much information, so I come here to ask you and Gekko and Heidita, and Cogumela, and Dakie and the rest.. just to try to make it easier. - jeezzle, Apr 19, 2011

Without this site I am immersing alone. So I rely on you guys, and I appreciate all the help that you give me. Thank you for your help. - jeezzle, Apr 19, 2011

Maybe in these cases you should ask for a few sentences where each word is used. You'll pick up the nuances bettwen than from an explanation or a definition. - lazarus1907, Apr 19, 2011

You're right. I should stick to sentence not word learning, I have learned that one before, languages are about sentences not individual words. - jeezzle, Apr 19, 2011

Agreed. Sentences and contextual meanings. Once you get the hang of that way of learning, you'll be pretty much set. Really. :-) - Gekkosan, Apr 19, 2011

Answer 3

In response to Mariana's "It's great to have the forum and be able to ask these things," I think it would be wonderful if there were not so often such a high price to pay for asking questions. If I were to respond to my students in the supercilious tone I've seen far too often here, I would be reprimanded. Perhaps even summarily dismissed. In my quest to learn Spanish, I exhaust every other resource before posting here and risking having contempt piled on me. This is supposed to be fun, not an exercise in masochism. So I read, regularly, but I usually don’t talk. It’s a bit troublesome. :-(

Yep. I don't dare ask any questions. - Steve_Rivera, Apr 20, 2011

Answer 4

Lazarus said:

....trampa involves breaking any rule, code of conduct, contract..

Another fun word that I learned while playing board games with the kids in Guatemala was "Tramposo/a," which is equivalent to "cheater" in English.

It was really great to how each of these words, which seem similar, were used differently in each situation.

P.s. I completley understand Jeezzle's quest to learn the subtle differences between each word. It's great to have the forum and be able to ask these things. - --Mariana--, Apr 20, 2011

Answer 5

Maybe in these cases you should ask for a few sentences where each word is used.

Jeezzle, I totally agree with him. I always try to learn something within its context. Believe me it's easier and you learn more quickly.