Proverb / Kotowaza
毒を食らわば皿まで
Once you have started something—even if it is bad or dangerous—you should see it through to the end.
If you eat poison, (eat) even the plate.
Quick Answer
Once you have started something—even if it is bad or dangerous—you should see it through to the end.
- Literal Image
- If you eat poison, (eat) even the plate.
- Closest Equivalent
- In for a penny, in for a pound.
- How to Use It
- This expression is used when deciding to finish a task completely because it has already begun and the consequences are already set, whether the task is a mistake, a crime, or simply a difficult commitment.
Meaning
This expression describes the resolution to finish a task completely once it has begun, even if the situation is unfavorable or morally questionable. It suggests that if the consequences of an action are already inevitable, there is no point in stopping halfway. It reflects a state of mind where one is prepared for the worst and decides to finish what they started.
Literal Image
If you eat poison, (eat) even the plate.
Equivalent Proverbs
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Suggests that once you have committed to a small part of a task, you must finish the whole thing.
As well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.
Focuses on the idea that if the punishment is the same, you might as well commit the greater offense.
How to Use It
This expression is used when deciding to finish a task completely because it has already begun and the consequences are already set, whether the task is a mistake, a crime, or simply a difficult commitment.
Tone
The proverb carries a defiant and serious tone, used when one has reached a point of no return.
Examples
ここまで来たら毒を食らわば皿までだ。最後までやり遂げよう。
Since we have come this far, we might as well see it through to the end. Let's finish it.
毒を食らわば皿までの覚悟で、徹夜してでも仕上げるしかない。
With the resolution to see things through to the very end, there is no choice but to finish it even if it means staying up all night.
毒を食らわば皿までと開き直って、全財産を投じた。
Accepting that there was no turning back, he invested his entire fortune.
嘘をつき通すのは心苦しいが、毒を食らわば皿までだ、最後まで知らないフリをしよう。
It is painful to keep lying, but since I have started, I will pretend not to know until the end.
予算を大幅にオーバーしてしまったが、中途半端に終わらせるわけにはいかない。毒を食らわば皿まで、完成するまで徹底的に資金を投入する。
The budget has been significantly exceeded, but we cannot leave it half-finished. Since we are already committed, we will keep investing funds until it is complete.
Learning Notes
Key Vocabulary
Uses the classical conditional form '-ba' and the somewhat rough verb 'kurau', making it more complex than intermediate material.
毒
どく / doku
poison
食らわば
くらわば / kurawaba
if one eats (rough/classical)
皿
さら / sara
plate
まで
made
until; as far as
Usage Profile
Usage note: This expression implies that the original action was bad or a mistake.
Misread Risk
Do not use this for purely positive achievements or innocent tasks, as it carries a nuance of 'being in a mess' or 'already having done something wrong'.
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Related Proverbs
Origin
The expression stems from the logic that if one has already consumed a poisoned dish and faces certain death, they might as well lick the plate as well. It was used in Edo-period Kabuki plays and literature to express the desperate resolution of cornered villains or individuals who had reached a point of no return.
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