No pegar ni con cola

not to go together; **not to go together**; **not to match**; **not to fit together**; **to clash**; **to be completely incompatible**

No pegar ni con cola means not to go together, not to match at all, to be completely incompatible, to clash, or not to fit together in any way.

It can refer to appearance, personality, ideas, situations or objects.

• two colours or clothes clash
• two people are completely different
• an explanation makes no sense
• ideas are contradictory
• something looks obviously out of place

The expression comes from the simple image of using cola (glue) to stick objects together.

If two things do not stick even with glue, they are imagined as fundamentally incompatible.

This concrete image gradually evolved into a figurative way of describing anything that lacks harmony or coherence.

The expression is extremely versatile.

Spaniards use it not only for physical appearance (clothes, colours or decoration) but also for:

• relationships;
• arguments;
• stories;
• personalities;
• ideas;
• or any situation that seems incoherent.

Spanish uses the verb pegar in several idiomatic ways related to compatibility:

• Pegar con → to match or suit.
• No pegar ni con cola → not to match at all.
• Pegarle a alguien → to suit someone.
• No pegar → to seem inappropriate or out of place.

Among them, no pegar ni con cola is the strongest expression because it humorously suggests that even glue would be incapable of making the two things fit together.

Do not translate the expression literally.

English speakers would never say:

It doesn't stick even with glue.

Instead, use expressions such as:

• It doesn't go together.
• They don't match.
• They clash.
• It doesn't make sense.
• They're completely incompatible.

Choose the translation according to whether the context refers to appearance, logic or relationships.