Meaning of pattern 「XがXなら、YもYだ」


While reading, I came across this sentence:

> 「上官が上官なら部下も部下だな」

What does this 「XがXなら、YもYだ」 pattern mean? "Like X, like Y"? "X will be X, and
Y will be Y"?




“XがXならYもYだ” means that X is bad in some sense and it explains that Y is bad in
the same way. Therefore 上官が上官なら部下も部下だ can be translated as “like officer, like
his subordinate,” but it is only used to mean the similarity in something bad.




“XがXならYもYだ” means that X is bad in some sense and it explains that Y is bad in
the same way. Therefore 上官が上官なら部下も部下だ can be translated as “like officer, like
his subordinate,” but it is only used to mean the similarity in something bad.

