Saltarse el sota, caballo y rey

[poli]

Sé que refuere a los naipes, pero no sé el significado.

[Rusty]

I found that it means ...

... same old, same old.
... something completely predictable, always the same.

Saltarse el sota, caballo, y rey means to do something entirely different, to not do the same old thing. It's like saying 'get out of the rut', 'escape the monotony', etc. There are a lot of ways to express this.

[irmamar]

I had never heard this meaning, but shouldn't it be "la sota"? Sota is feminine. :)

[aleCcowaN]

sota, caballo y rey. 1. expr. coloq. U. para designar los tres platos en que se considera dividido el cocido o la olla, y también la comida ordinaria compuesta de sopa, cocido y principio.

Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados
No encuentro ningún uso fuera de España (coloquial, cultura material y primera aparición en el DRAE de 1925 es en general indicio de que se trata de un localismo). Aparentemente es "la rutina" o "lo ordinario" o "eso de todos los días"

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Rusty, it's to do something that doesn't follow an expected pattern.

@Irma: Es cierto que la sota es femenino, pero "sota, caballo y rey" se refiere al orden específico en el que van esas cartas, así que hay que "saltárselo" en singular, masculino. ;)

[irmamar]

Thanks, Angélica. It may be something typical from Madrid (because of the "cocido"). I had never heard it before and I wouldn't have understood. :thinking: :)

[JPablo]

Rusty's answer already gives the sense, as in "bypass" the standard "run-of-the-mill" activities, and do something different.

I admit the "el sota" sounds unfamiliar to Spaniards, but "Saltarse el 'sota, caballo y rey'" is acceptable, as a "unit".

I've seen "saltarse la sota, el caballo y el rey" too... But I'd think is not super popular, although there may be books or films...

Like this one from Mexico,

In Sota, Caballo y Rey (Robert Quigley, 1944, 90 mins.), landowner Gustavo, returning to Mexico with a great deal of money to settle an old debt, is killed in a hold-up. Young Jose, who was to meet Gustavo, discovers the body and returns to town to sound the alarm and start the investigation. With lots of adventure, action, and songs. With Luis Aguilar, Domingo Soler, Amanda Del Llano, Meche Barba, Carlos Lopez Moctezuma. Then in A Tiro Limpio (Rene Cardona, 1960, 73 mins.), a young lawyer returns to his father's ranch and begins to understand how poorly the workers are treated. Taking up the fight to better their standard of living, the lawyer pits himself first against his father and later against a much more insidious syndicate of animal and seed traders. Rene Cardona Jr., Sofia Alvarez, and Lorena Velazquez star. Rene Cardona/Robert Quigley---Mexico---1944/1960---163 mins.

[Rusty]

... "bypass" the standard "run-of-the-mill" activities, and do something different.Small corrections. ;)

[JPablo]

Thank you, Rusty!