Agua pasada no mueve molino

Not everyone who lives in Spain follows Spanish politics, but I happen to be one of those strange creatures who find the whole subject a source of intense fascination.  Only today, for example, I listened to the current defence minister Carmé Chacon get round a journalist’s difficult question by falling back on to a traditional saying.  Agua pasada no mueve molino, literally means “Water that’s gone past doesn’t move the mill”, or as we would say in English – It’s no use crying over spilt milk, although in this context That’s water under the bridge, would be a better translation.   With this manoeuvre Carmé, who I admire very much incidentally, neatly managed to avoid commenting on the fact that her recent words about a potential split in the PSOE had been publically contradicted by a fellow party member.  You can find other Spanish sayings in the A to Z articles on my website www.janecronin.eu