string attached | Idiomator

Meaning: (idiomatic,chiefly in theplural)Acondition,catch,limitation,caveat,restriction, orrequirementI'll get you that new video game that you want so badly, but there's astring attached; you must also clean your room at least once a week.They were advertising free television sets, but there were a lot ofstrings attached.2024January 24, Christian Wolmar, “What could Labour do to reverse the rail reform agenda?”, inRAIL, number1001, page47:As I write this, drivers' union ASLEF has announced yet another series of one-day strikes, because ministers are stupidly insisting that the modest below-inflation pay rise they have offered drivers still comes withstrings attachedover working conditions.

Examples:

EN: Alright, I'll guarantee to get him without one string attached.
ES: Está bien. Me aseguraré de conseguirlo sin condiciones.
EN: Once you're outside Edo, he'll be just like a kite with no string attached.
ES: Una vez que estés fuera de Edo, él será como una cometa sin una cuerda que la sujete.
EN: For an example, you take a cork with a nail stuck in it and a violin string attached on the side of it stick it in the asshole and then sideways jack off.
ES: Por ejemplo, se toma un corcho... con un clavo clavado en él y una cuerda violín adjunto en el lado de ella... Lo meter por el culo... y luego te masturbas hacia el costado.
EN: Okay, 'cause... there's a string attached.
ES: De acuerdo, porque hay compromiso.
EN: Why do I get the feeling there's a string attached to this?
ES: ¿Por qué tengo la impresión de que hay una cadena atada a esto?
EN: There was a string attached to my Pop-Tart.
ES: Había un hilo en mi galleta.
EN: A string attached to keys can only mean one thing:
ES: Una cuerda atada a las llaves sólo puede significar una cosa.
EN: You know, with a wide base or a string attached.
ES: Ya sabes, con una base ancha, o que tengan un cordón...
EN: Now, I'm sorry if I seem a little bit skeptical, but the last time a federal agent came up in here offering me a deal, there was a string attached... that I was supposed to put around my neck.
ES: Ahora, siento, si parezco un poco escéptico. Pero la última vez cuando un agente federal vino a mí ofreciéndome un trato, había una cuerda la que se suponía que tenía que ponerme en el cuello.
EN: But there is one itty, bitty little string attached.
ES: Pero hay un pequeño itty fragmentario con cadena adjunto.
EN: That's the only string attached.
ES: Es la única condición.
EN: He's the string attached.
ES: Él es el lazo de unión.
EN: Well, there is one string attached.
ES: Bueno, hay una atadura.
EN: See, with wishes, sometimes there's literally a string attached.
ES: Mira, con los deseos, a veces hay literalmente una cuerda atada.
EN: Well, they were so paranoid that they would actually request to be buried with a string attached to a bell above ground, and then the whole family would hang around the grave for 24 hours in hopes of hearing the bell
ES: Bueno, eran tan paranoicos que pedían que se les enterrara con una tira con una campana sobre la tierra y entonces toda la familia se quedaría alrededor de la tumba durante 24 horas esperando oír la campana y que volviera su ser querido,

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