"nada se aguanta en pie."

Question

From a translation of Tuck Everlasting, there is this sentence: "Son puntos fijos, y más vale dejarlos en paz, ya que sin ellos nada se aguanta en pie." The original sentence has this: Fixed points they are, and best left undisturbed, for without them, nothing holds together."

Is "se aguanta en pie" an idiomatic phrase? I would love some help constructing the meaning within this translation.

Answer 1

It should be: nada se aguanta de pie ... nothing will be left standing. This is not an idiom but simple sentence structure.

This translator is too much word-for-word. It should say: They are fixed points ..........

Thanks, Julian, I needed your comment! - Jubilado, Jan 14, 2016

Answer 2

nothing will be left standing

Answer 3

The word pie can mean bottom or end, and aguantarse means to put up with. Aguantar means endure so with se it could me "nothing is endured in the end." I'm not a native speaker and I am playing a guessing game here, but I think in a loose translation it means "nothing holds together."

Let's hope this is either confirmed or clarified by a native speaker.

Edit: Well, JulianChivi is a native speaker and has answered your query. My post will remain linguistic musings for myself.

I think both of our interpretations have very similar meanings. My answer is emphasize that we say "de" rather than "en" - 005faa61, Jan 14, 2016