The rope goes where the bucket is

Val. «On va la corda va el poal»*

It is usually said when two people are always together. They may be two close friends or a couple. Generally the expression is used to mean that there exists a certain co-dependency between two people or two things. The metaphor of a bucket tied by a rope is helpful to understand the meaning of this expression, as these two objects must be together in order to take water out of a well.

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Se sol dir quan dues persones van sempre juntes, per exemple dos bons amics o una parella. En general, l’expressió s’aplica a persones o coses entre les quals hi ha una certa relació de dependència. Hom fa servir la metàfora del poal que trau aigua d’un pou amb l’ajut d’una corda, ja que els dos objectes han d’estar, per força, units per tal de dur a terme aquesta tasca.

Ex 1. Mira’ls, allà van aquells dos altra volta, on va la corda va el poal!

E.g. 1 Look at those two, hanging out together again. Certainly, the rope goes where the bucket is!

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Ex. Hi ha crisi als EEUU, i Europa en recessió. I és que on va la corda va el poal!

E.g. Crisis sweeps through US economy, and Europe goes in recession. The rope goes where the bucket is!

*Also «Ser la corda i el poal» (To be the rope and the bucket)