[Depolit]

In another thread about "myths" the issue of "pasmarse" arose...and some of you participated trying to clarify the situation but in fact added a lot of confusion...sorry, but most of you are DEAD WRONG.

Pasmo (or pah'mo in Andalu/Dominican) with coresponding verb form pasmar(se) (pah'marse) DOES NOT correspond to espasmo...repeat...NOT.

You are also WRONG by thinking they mean that exposure to cold when your body is hot may cause DEATH...YOU IMAGINED they meant death because they warned you against it...but they NEVER spoke of death...they DO NOT mean death.

What they mean is that you could get a muscular stiffness (probably of a facial muscle) which may disfigure your face and make it difficult for you to speak clearly or at all...and yes I know this from FIRST HAND.

And guess what...this is not a legend AT ALL...

Pasmar(se) is a 100% standard ('correct', 'official') CASTELLANO word, which means almost exactly what the Dominican campesinos think it means...yes, sometimes Dominican campesinos know more about (their) life than you do...how shocking!

From the 'sacred' Royal Academy dictionary:

pasmar(se): 1. tr. Enfriar mucho o bruscamente. U. t. c. prnl.
(to make something/someone too cold or cold too suddenly )
5. prnl. Contraer el pasmo (‖ enfermedad).
(To get the "pasmo" (||desease).)

Pasmo:
3. m. Rigidez y tensión convulsiva de los músculos.
(muscular stiffness and tension with convulsion)
4. m. Efecto de un enfriamiento que se manifiesta por romadizo, dolor de huesos y otras molestias.
(effect of exposure to cold temperature which manifest itself as head cold and bone pain)
5. m. tétanos (‖ enfermedad)
which is:
1. m. Med. Rigidez y tensión convulsiva de los músculos voluntarios.
(muscular stiffness and tension with convulsion)
2. m. Med. Enfermedad muy grave producida por un bacilo que penetra generalmente por las heridas y ataca el sistema nervioso. Sus síntomas principales son la contracción dolorosa y permanente de los músculos, y la fiebre.
(Grave disease caused by a bacillus...whose main symptoms are painful muscular contraction and fever) .

There you have it: When Dominicans talk about "pasmarse" or "pasmo" (pronounced often with an H sound replacing the S as in the South of Spain) they mean more or less the same as...the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language...surprise, surprise, surprise.

Of course they are not necessarily medical doctors, and the situations that they think may lead to a pasmo may not be...but in principle they are correct (and you TOTALLY WRONG...sorry).