Spanish Word of the Day: trampa

Today’s word may not be the most interesting of the most used one, but it could always come in handy. I actually heard it for the first time yesterday in the context that someone tried to hacer trampas.

A quick look in my loyal EsPasa Calpe dictionary gave me five definitions. The first three didn’t fit in the context I heard it in, but the fourth did: “Incumplimiento de una ley, norma o regla: hacer trampas en el juego.” In plain English this translates to “to cheat” (in a game). Other meanings are “trap” or “snare”.

Sentences

Le tendieron una trampa.
They laid o set a trap for him.

Eso es hacer trampa.
That’s cheating.

Hizo una trampa en la declaración de Hacienda.
He cheated on his tax return.

Caer en la trampa.
To fall into the trap.