Travel with Rick Steves · Saturday, July 4, 2026
Tartaglia shared an Italian idiom, 'non puoi avere la botta piena e la moglie ubriaca,' which translates to 'You can't have the wife drunk and the barrel full at the same time.' This idiom, equivalent to the English 'you can't have your cake and eat it too,' offers insight into Italian culture, particularly its relationship with wine.
“The one that in Italian we say, non puoi avere la botta piena e la moglie ubriaca. You cannot have the wife drunk and the barrel full at the same time. You can't have a drunk wife and a full barrel of wine at the same time.”
“You know, expressions and idioms really represents the culture coming from.”