ProverbWisdom
English origin1678
English origin1678One may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.
Meaning: Risk harsh punishment equally for major wrongs or minor ones, so choose the bolder course.
Origin: When sheep-stealing was a hanging offense, the penalty was the same whether the thief took a grown sheep or a lamb, so he might as well take the sheep. John Ray's English Proverbs (1678) has "As good be hanged for an old sheep as a young lamb." It means that if you will be punished anyway, you may as well commit the bigger offense.
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