atar

The basic verb for "to tie" or "to bind" — a rope, shoelaces, an animal to a post — and, figuratively, to tie someone down or commit them (atado a un contrato, atado a la rutina). It's central to several fixed expressions, from loco de atar ("stark raving mad," originally about needing to be physically restrained) to atar cabos ("to put two and two together").

• Ató los cordones antes de salir a correr. — He tied his shoelaces before going out for a run.
• Atamos el perro al poste mientras entrábamos. — We tied the dog to the post while we went in.
• Con tanta información, al final até cabos. — With so much information, I finally put two and two together.

Missing that atar cabos means "to piece clues together," not literally tying rope ends — the nautical origin (splicing rope cabos) has become a purely figurative expression for reasoning your way to a conclusion.

• expression "Loco de atar" — A common fixed expression for someone acting wildly irrational or out of control — literally "mad enough to be tied up," from the historical practice of physically restraining people considered dangerously unstable.
• expression "Atar cabos" — A widely used idiom meaning to piece together scattered facts or clues to reach a conclusion — from nautical language, where atar cabos originally meant splicing rope ends together.