Meaning
Once committed to a course of action, it is worth accepting the larger commitment needed to finish it. Often spoken at the moment a small undertaking becomes a larger one. It need not involve money. Regional use: United Kingdom and wider Commonwealth; widely understood elsewhere.
Origin
This long-standing British proverb contrasts a penny with the much larger sum of a pound. Print evidence reaches back to the late 17th century. The monetary contrast itself explains the sense; claims that the saying arose from a particular debt law or criminal penalty are not required by, and are not securely established in, the documentary record.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- If in for a penny, in for a pound
- Once in for a penny, in for a pound
Usage Examples
- We had already stripped one wall, so in for a penny, in for a pound, we renovated the whole room.
- In for a penny, in for a pound: Mara entered both races instead of choosing one.