"one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb" meaning in English

See one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Audio: En-us-one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb.oga
Etymology: Referring to hanging as a former means of execution for one who had stolen an animal. Head templates: {{en-proverb|head=one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb}} one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb
  1. If one is going to commit a sin, it may as well be a major one as a minor one. Synonyms: Numerous variants, generally following this pattern: one may, might as well hang, be hanged, be hung for a sheep as [for] a lamb Related terms: in for a penny, in for a pound Translations (Translations): 一不做二不休 (Chinese Mandarin), joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön (english: closest equivalent) (Finnish), 毒を喰らわば皿まで (dokuwokurawabasaramade) (Japanese), lepiej iść na całość (Polish)
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  "lang_code": "en",
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      "glosses": [
        "If one is going to commit a sin, it may as well be a major one as a minor one."
      ],
      "id": "en-one_may_as_well_hang_for_a_sheep_as_a_lamb-en-proverb-Zek~DK3f",
      "links": [
        [
          "sin",
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        ],
        [
          "major",
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        [
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      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "in for a penny, in for a pound"
        }
      ],
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        {
          "word": "Numerous variants"
        },
        {
          "word": "generally following this pattern: one may"
        },
        {
          "word": "might as well hang"
        },
        {
          "word": "be hanged"
        },
        {
          "word": "be hung for a sheep as [for] a lamb"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "一不做二不休"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "english": "closest equivalent",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "dokuwokurawabasaramade",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "毒を喰らわば皿まで"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "lepiej iść na całość"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "семь бед — оди́н отве́т (semʹ bed — odín otvét)",
          "sense": "Translations"
        }
      ]
    }
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}
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  "lang_code": "en",
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        "If one is going to commit a sin, it may as well be a major one as a minor one."
      ],
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    {
      "word": "Numerous variants"
    },
    {
      "word": "generally following this pattern: one may"
    },
    {
      "word": "might as well hang"
    },
    {
      "word": "be hanged"
    },
    {
      "word": "be hung for a sheep as [for] a lamb"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "一不做二不休"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "english": "closest equivalent",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "joka leikkiin ryhtyy, se leikin kestäköön"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "dokuwokurawabasaramade",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "毒を喰らわば皿まで"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "lepiej iść na całość"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "семь бед — оди́н отве́т (semʹ bed — odín otvét)",
      "sense": "Translations"
    }
  ],
  "word": "one may as well hang for a sheep as a lamb"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). 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.

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