in for a penny, in for a pound

English

Etymology

Originally with reference to the fact that if one owed a penny, one might as well owe a pound (pound sterling, UK currency) as the penalties for non-payment were virtually identical in severity.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪn fəɹə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fəɹə paʊnd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɪn fɔɹ ə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fɔɹ ə paʊnd/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Proverb

in for a penny, in for a pound

1. Having started something, one must see it through to its end, rather than stopping short; one must “go the whole hog”.
   • 1964, J. F. Holleman, Experiment in Swaziland: report of the Swaziland sample survey, 1960, page 9:

     Under the circumstances it seemed to be a case of ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’. If the Institute’s team were still prepared to accept the challenge, the Administration was willing to do likewise…

   • 1964, Sanki Ichikawa, The Kenkyusha Dictionary of Current English Idioms, page 509:

     …in for a penny, in for a pound: if one undertakes something, it must be carried through at whatever cost.

   • 2001, B. J. James, A Lady for Lincoln Cade, page 159:

     Turning before the mirror, she studied the gown she’d spent much of her savings on in Belle Terre. “Okay, but not great. In for a penny, in for a pound. Soon I have to get a job.”

   • 2002, Kathryn Wall, In for a Penny: A Bay Tanner Mystery, page 123:

     I rummaged in my bag for Miss Addie’s keys, turned off the car, and marched purposefully toward the building.
     “‘In for a penny, in for a pound’”, I mumbled under my breath as I pushed open the door and headed for the elevator.

   • 2004, M. Mihkel Mathiesen, Global Warming in a Politically Correct Climate: How Truth Became Controversial, page 133:

     It appears to be a situation where the greenhouse proponents are in for a penny, in for a pound. As long as the myth needs to be kept alive, this is the inescapable conclusion.

Synonyms

• in for a dime, in for a dollar
• in for an inch, in for a mile

Antonyms

• If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.
• It's never the wrong time to make the right decision

Translations

Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof

• Catalan: perdut per perdut, la manta al coll, perdut per perdut, m'agafo allà on puc
• Chinese: 一不做，二不休 (zh) (yī bù zuò, èr bù xiū)
• Czech: když už, tak už
• Dutch: wie a zegt, moet ook b zeggen (literally “who says a, must say b, too”)
• Esperanto: kiu sin enjungis, devas tiri (literally “whoever harnessed oneself must pull”)
• Finnish: asiat pitää viedä loppuun asti; joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön
• French: quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire (fr) (literally “when the wine is drawn, one has to drink it”), le premier pas engage au second, qui dit A, doit dire B (literally “who says a, must say b”)
• German: wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen (de) (literally “who says a, must say b, too”); wenn schon, denn schon (de) (literally “if [we do it] at all, then [let us] actually [do it right]”)
• Hindi : कोशिश से बाज न आना (kośiś se bāj na ānā, literally “never stop at trying”)
• Hungarian: aki á-t mond, mondjon b-t is (hu)
• Irish: ó loisc mé an choinneal loiscfidh mé an t-orlach
• Japanese: 毒を食らわば皿まで (ja) (どくをくらわばさらまで, doku wo kurawaba sara made, literally “if you have eaten the poison, [lick] even the plate”)
• Macedonian: а́ко е бал, не́ка би́де ма́скенбал (áko e bal, néka bíde máskenbal)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: har man sagt A, må man også si B (literally “who says A must say B, too”)

• Polish: jak się powiedziało A, to trzeba powiedzieć B
• Portuguese: perdido por cem, perdido por mil (literally “lost by a hundred, lost by a thousand”), perdido por um, perdido por mil (literally “lost by one, lost by a thousand”)
• Russian: взя́лся за гуж — не говори́, что не дюж (vzjálsja za guž — ne govorí, što ne djuž)
• Spanish: de perdidos al río (literally “from lost to the river”)

See also

• one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb
• pot committed
• status quo bias
• sunk costs fallacy
• throw good money after bad