"in for a penny, in for a pound" meaning in English

See in for a penny, in for a pound in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

IPA: /ɪn fəɹə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fəɹə paʊnd/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ɪn fɔɹ ə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fɔɹ ə paʊnd/ [US] Audio: en-au-in for a penny, in for a pound.ogg [Australia]
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. Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=}} in for a penny, in for a pound, {{en-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”. Synonyms: in for a dime, in for a dollar, in for an inch, in for a mile Related terms: one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb, throw good money after bad, pot committed, status quo bias, pivoting (english: in business strategy), sunk costs fallacy, commitment bias Translations (Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof): perdut per perdut, la manta al coll (Catalan), perdut per perdut, m'agafo allà on puc (Catalan), 一不做,二不休 (yī bù zuò, èr bù xiū) (Chinese), když už, tak už (Czech), wie a zegt, moet ook b zeggen (Dutch), kiu sin enjungis, devas tiri (Esperanto), asiat pitää viedä loppuun asti (Finnish), joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön (Finnish), quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire (French), le premier pas engage au second (French), qui dit A, doit dire B (French), wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen (German), wenn schon, denn schon (German), aki á-t mond, mondjon b-t is (Hungarian), ó loisc mé an choinneal loiscfidh mé an t-orlach (Irish), а́ко е бал, не́ка би́де ма́скенбал (áko e bal, néka bíde máskenbal) (Macedonian), har man sagt A, må man også si B (Norwegian Bokmål), jak się powiedziało A, to trzeba powiedzieć B (Polish), perdido por cem, perdido por mil (Portuguese), perdido por um, perdido por mil (Portuguese), de perdidos al río (Spanish)

Download JSON data for in for a penny, in for a pound meaning in English (9.6kB)

{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging"
    },
    {
      "word": "It's never the wrong time to make the right decision"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "in for a penny, in for a pound",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "in for a penny, in for a pound",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Chinese terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1964, J. F. Holleman, Experiment in Swaziland: report of the Swaziland sample survey, 1960, page 9",
          "text": "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…",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1964, Sanki Ichikawa, The Kenkyusha Dictionary of Current English Idioms, page 509",
          "text": "…in for a penny, in for a pound: if one undertakes something, it must be carried through at whatever cost.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, B. J. James, A Lady for Lincoln Cade, page 159",
          "text": "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.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Kathryn Wall, In for a Penny: A Bay Tanner Mystery, page 123",
          "text": "I rummaged in my bag for Miss Addie’s keys, turned off the car, and marched purposefully toward the building.\n“‘In for a penny, in for a pound’”, I mumbled under my breath as I pushed open the door and headed for the elevator.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, M. Mihkel Mathiesen, Global Warming in a Politically Correct Climate: How Truth Became Controversial, page 133",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having started something, one must see it through to its end, rather than stopping short; one must “go the whole hog”."
      ],
      "id": "en-in_for_a_penny,_in_for_a_pound-en-proverb-sB~h6GNT",
      "links": [
        [
          "go the whole hog",
          "go the whole hog"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb"
        },
        {
          "word": "throw good money after bad"
        },
        {
          "word": "pot committed"
        },
        {
          "word": "status quo bias"
        },
        {
          "english": "in business strategy",
          "word": "pivoting"
        },
        {
          "word": "sunk costs fallacy"
        },
        {
          "word": "commitment bias"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "in for a dime, in for a dollar"
        },
        {
          "word": "in for an inch, in for a mile"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "perdut per perdut, la manta al coll"
        },
        {
          "code": "ca",
          "lang": "Catalan",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "perdut per perdut, m'agafo allà on puc"
        },
        {
          "code": "zh",
          "lang": "Chinese",
          "roman": "yī bù zuò, èr bù xiū",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "一不做,二不休"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "když už, tak už"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "wie a zegt, moet ook b zeggen"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "kiu sin enjungis, devas tiri"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "asiat pitää viedä loppuun asti"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "le premier pas engage au second"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "qui dit A, doit dire B"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "wenn schon, denn schon"
        },
        {
          "code": "hi",
          "lang": "Hindi",
          "note": "कोशिश से बाज न आना (kośiś se bāj na ānā, literally “never stop at trying”)",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "aki á-t mond, mondjon b-t is"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "ó loisc mé an choinneal loiscfidh mé an t-orlach"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "note": "毒を食らわば皿まで (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”)",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof"
        },
        {
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "áko e bal, néka bíde máskenbal",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "а́ко е бал, не́ка би́де ма́скенбал"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "har man sagt A, må man også si B"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "jak się powiedziało A, to trzeba powiedzieć B"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "perdido por cem, perdido por mil"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "perdido por um, perdido por mil"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "взя́лся за гуж — не говори́, что не дюж (vzjálsja za guž — ne govorí, što ne djuž)",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
          "word": "de perdidos al río"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪn fəɹə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fəɹə paʊnd/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪn fɔɹ ə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fɔɹ ə paʊnd/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-in for a penny, in for a pound.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7e/En-au-in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound.ogg/En-au-in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/En-au-in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "in for a penny, in for a pound"
}
{
  "antonyms": [
    {
      "word": "If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging"
    },
    {
      "word": "It's never the wrong time to make the right decision"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "in for a penny, in for a pound",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "in for a penny, in for a pound",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb"
    },
    {
      "word": "throw good money after bad"
    },
    {
      "word": "pot committed"
    },
    {
      "word": "status quo bias"
    },
    {
      "english": "in business strategy",
      "word": "pivoting"
    },
    {
      "word": "sunk costs fallacy"
    },
    {
      "word": "commitment bias"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Chinese terms with redundant transliterations",
        "English coordinated pairs",
        "English ellipses",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English proverbs",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1964, J. F. Holleman, Experiment in Swaziland: report of the Swaziland sample survey, 1960, page 9",
          "text": "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…",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1964, Sanki Ichikawa, The Kenkyusha Dictionary of Current English Idioms, page 509",
          "text": "…in for a penny, in for a pound: if one undertakes something, it must be carried through at whatever cost.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2001, B. J. James, A Lady for Lincoln Cade, page 159",
          "text": "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.”",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2002, Kathryn Wall, In for a Penny: A Bay Tanner Mystery, page 123",
          "text": "I rummaged in my bag for Miss Addie’s keys, turned off the car, and marched purposefully toward the building.\n“‘In for a penny, in for a pound’”, I mumbled under my breath as I pushed open the door and headed for the elevator.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, M. Mihkel Mathiesen, Global Warming in a Politically Correct Climate: How Truth Became Controversial, page 133",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Having started something, one must see it through to its end, rather than stopping short; one must “go the whole hog”."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "go the whole hog",
          "go the whole hog"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪn fəɹə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fəɹə paʊnd/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ɪn fɔɹ ə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fɔɹ ə paʊnd/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-au-in for a penny, in for a pound.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/7/7e/En-au-in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound.ogg/En-au-in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/En-au-in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "in for a dime, in for a dollar"
    },
    {
      "word": "in for an inch, in for a mile"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "perdut per perdut, la manta al coll"
    },
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "perdut per perdut, m'agafo allà on puc"
    },
    {
      "code": "zh",
      "lang": "Chinese",
      "roman": "yī bù zuò, èr bù xiū",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "一不做,二不休"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "když už, tak už"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "wie a zegt, moet ook b zeggen"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "kiu sin enjungis, devas tiri"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "asiat pitää viedä loppuun asti"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "quand le vin est tiré, il faut le boire"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "le premier pas engage au second"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "qui dit A, doit dire B"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "wer A sagt, muss auch B sagen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "wenn schon, denn schon"
    },
    {
      "code": "hi",
      "lang": "Hindi",
      "note": "कोशिश से बाज न आना (kośiś se bāj na ānā, literally “never stop at trying”)",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "aki á-t mond, mondjon b-t is"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "ó loisc mé an choinneal loiscfidh mé an t-orlach"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "note": "毒を食らわば皿まで (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”)",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof"
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "áko e bal, néka bíde máskenbal",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "а́ко е бал, не́ка би́де ма́скенбал"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "har man sagt A, må man også si B"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "jak się powiedziało A, to trzeba powiedzieć B"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "perdido por cem, perdido por mil"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "perdido por um, perdido por mil"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "взя́лся за гуж — не говори́, что не дюж (vzjálsja za guž — ne govorí, što ne djuž)",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof",
      "word": "de perdidos al río"
    }
  ],
  "word": "in for a penny, in for a pound"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-17 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-01 using wiktextract (0b52755 and 5cb0836). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.