In mus, the full game bet is called órdago.
The term órdago comes from the Basque hor dago , which translates as “there it is.” The concept is used in mus , a popular card game.
The mus is played with the Spanish deck , usually between four individuals who are grouped in pairs . Each player receives four cards and must decide whether he wants to “mus” (discard at least one card) or “no mus” (keep the cards he received). If all the players want to get rid of cards, the “mus” becomes concrete: the players must then leave the cards they want to get rid of face down in a pile and then receive the same amount.
The action is repeated until a player no longer wants “mus” . Once this step is completed, the game begins with the sets or plays: big (the couple with the highest value of the cards wins), small (the one with the lowest value wins), pairs (the winning couple is the one with the most equal cards and of greater value) or game (to succeed you must equal or exceed 31, adding the values of the cards). In each cast, it is possible to “raise” (bet) or pass.
Ordago in the mus
With these issues explained, we can now focus on the idea of órdago . This is what the full game bet is called. The órdago, therefore, is a bet that, if accepted by the opponents, defines the game, since the pair that wins the move also keeps the game beyond the points accumulated so far.
Specifically, within this aforementioned game and even popularly outside of it, the expression “throw an order” is used. What this is trying to express is that a person accepts risking everything as a challenge.
The notion of ordago can be linked to something superlative: "Today it is extremely cold."
A colloquial expression
The expression “de órdago” is used in colloquial language to describe something enormous or superlative . For example: “It's freezing cold, I don't know how to keep warm anymore,” “The production of the film required a massive investment in special effects.”
In this case, we can state, therefore, that órdago can also be used as a synonym for words such as disproportionate, excellent or even superior quality.
The term órdago in books and music
In the cultural field we come across different works that use the term that concerns us now in their titles. This would be the case, for example, of the book “Órdago: a walk along the Basque border of the Pyrenees” .
That was published in 2019, its author is Professor Álvaro de la Rica and it must be established that it is a work halfway between a travel work and an autobiography. Specifically, it comes to talk about some important issues about the geographical area to which it refers. More precisely, it revolves around the politics of the place, art, religion, history, faith...
Likewise, we cannot forget “Órdago! “Reflections of a mus player” . This work was written by Barcelona native Jordi Briñol , who is the founder and president of the Barcelona Mus Club as well as a delegate in his city of the renowned Spanish Mus Association , better known as ASESMUS .
We also have to highlight that Ordago Folk is the name of a specific traditional music group from the Basque Country .