až to bude, tak to bude

Czech

Etymology

Literally, “it won't be done until it has been done”.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈaʃ to ˈbudɛ ˈtak to ˈbudɛ]

Proverb

až to bude, tak to bude

the work cannot be done earlier or faster; close to an oak is not felled at one stroke
- 1993, Roman Ráž, Cesta po kolenou‎^[1], Favia International, →ISBN, page 127:
  „Co s tím uděláte?“
  „Posíláme tam vůz.“
  „A kdy to spravíte?“
  „Vždyť ještě nevíme, oč jde. Až to bude, tak to bude!“
  "What are you going to do with it?"
  "We are sending a car there."
  "And when are you going to mend it?"
  "But we still don't know, what the problem is. We will do it, you have to wait!"

Usage notes

Usually used as a response to somebody who keeps asking when something is going to be done or finished, trying to push the other person to do it earlier or faster.