# If you can't do the time, don't do the crime



## Благо

Привет!

Есть в русском выражении эквивалентно (or is it "эквивалентный выражении"?) "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime"? As in "if you cannot accept the repercussions of your negative/wrong/illicit/illegal/etc. behavior, then don't do it in the first place".

Спасибо заранее

PS: for anyone interested  the equivalent expression in Spanish would be "No la hagas y no la temas" (lit: don't do it [the crime/misdeed] and don't fear it [the consequences])


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## Explorer41

Волков бояться - в лес не ходить... :-|||   But it's not an equivalent, of course. Only close.


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## Благо

Explorer41 said:


> Волков бояться - в лес не ходить... :-|||   But it's not an equivalent, of course. Only close.



Excellent! I like this expression a lot, many thanks, Explorer!


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## Explorer41

Благо said:


> Есть в русском языке выражени*е,* эквивалентно*е* (or is it "эквивалентный выражении"?)


Why do you like so much the Prepositional case?  And (generally) it's not right to use the short form of an adjective as an attribute. And commas are really needed in Russian at their right places... I'm sorry, but this is really so...


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## morzh

Explorer41 said:


> Волков бояться - в лес не ходить... :-|||   But it's not an equivalent, of course. Only close.



Sorry to tell you this - has nothing to do with the English proverb.

The Russian one means "If you are not ready to put an effort, if you are afraid of something you have to face to do the job - you are not going to achieve anything ".
The English means the opposite: "Don't do something risky if you are not ready for consequences".

However:

"*Любишь кататься - люби саночки возить*" is fairly close. The meaning is the same - you like fun, be ready to pay for it.


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## Explorer41

I feel so. Please explain it more deeply? EDIT: OK. Answered.

And by the way, the Russian one should be close to the Spanish variant, except for Благо says the Spanish variant means a misdeed and the Russian proverb doesn't.


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## morzh

Explorer41 said:


> And by the way, it should be close to the Spanish variant, except for Благо says the Spanish variant means a misdeed and the Russian proverb doesn't.



Actually on the Spanish-English forum there was discussion of the same.
I think they said there was no direct equivalent in Spanish, and quoted a close one:

"El que monta un caballo chúcaro, que aguante si corcovea."


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## morzh

In English there are often more then one proverb with the same meaning.

This one has this equivalent:

"After dinner comes the reckoning". (The Feast is good 'til the reck'ning come).


In Russian there is another close one:

"Пировали-веселились, подсчитали - прослезились".



Explorer41 said:


> And by the way, the Russian one should be close to the Spanish variant,  except for Благо says the Spanish variant means a misdeed and the  Russian proverb doesn't.




Actually I am not aware of a Russian proverb with similar meaning that uses crime/risky behavior as the subject.

The one you quoted "Волков бояться..." has an equivalent, "кто не рискует, тот не пьет шампанское", but then again, like I already said, it is a different proverb with a different meaning.
And most Russian proverbs that speak of risk, or effort, do not involve crime.

It is possible something exists in the criminal lingo, but I am not big on it.


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## VelikiMag

Любишь медок - люби и холодок!


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## Благо

Explorer41 said:


> Why do you like so much the Prepositional case?  And (generally) it's not right to use the short form of an adjective as an attribute. And commas are really needed in Russian at their right places... I'm sorry, but this is really so...



Thank you for the corrections, Explorer. The punctuation I'm really struggling with (ok, I'm struggling with everything, but regarding the punctuation - in Russian - I'm particularly lost).


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## morzh

VelikiMag said:


> Любишь медок - люби и холодок!



This proverb is not very popular, for starters. Also I saw many people discussing its meaning, and no one could offer a good explanation. Intuitively it is an equivalent of "любишь кататься", yes, but people really diverge in their opinions as to what exactly "медок" is (whether it is honey, or an alcoholic beverage) and what "холодок" is (whether it is "cold", or "cold room" (in a prison), or else).

I prefer proverbs, meanings of which may be understood literally. This is why proverbs are different from idioms, literal meaning of which you do not have to understand in order to use them successfully.


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## Благо

morzh said:


> Sorry to tell you this - has nothing to do with the English proverb.
> 
> The Russian one means "If you are not ready to put an effort, if you are afraid of something you have to face to do the job - you are not going to achieve anything ".
> The English means the opposite: "Don't do something risky if you are not ready for consequences"..



Morzh, I thought that was "Работа - не волк, в лес и убежит"???  



morzh said:


> Actually on the Spanish-English forum there was discussion of the same.
> I think they said there was no direct equivalent in Spanish, and quoted a close one:
> 
> "El que monta un caballo chúcaro, que aguante si corcovea."



Now there is 

PS: the - very South-American - saying you mention rather means: you get what you pay for (as in "if you're cheap, then don't complain").


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## morzh

Благо said:


> Morzh, I thought that was "Работа - не волк, в лес и *НЕ* убежит"???
> 
> 
> Благо,
> 
> Волк присутствует в более чем одной русской пословице.
> Он так же присутствует более чем в одной американской пословице.
> Вот пример:
> 
> "I feel like I've been eaten by a wolf and shit out over a cliff". (often used about hangovers)
> 
> You wouldn't say it is the same right?


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## Благо

morzh said:


> Благо said:
> 
> 
> 
> Morzh, I thought that was "Работа - не волк, в лес и убежит"???
> Вот пример:
> 
> "I feel like I've been eaten by a wolf and shit out over a cliff". (often used about hangovers)
> 
> You wouldn't say it is the same right?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not sure I understand, would you kindly care to elaborate?
> 
> Now seriously, yes I do understand, but...
> 
> OK, it seems to me that the saying that Explorer mentioned has to do more with "risk" than either "effort" or "consequences from a misdeed".
> 
> Если бояться трудностей или опасных последствий, то не стоит и начинать  какое-либо дело. Говорится, чтобы подбодрить себя или кого-то, когда  решаются на какое-либо опасное или неизвестное дело, связанное с риском.
> О   Не робеешь? Справишься? — Говорится, волков бояться — в лес не ходить  (Е. Карпов, Не родись счастливым). — Я вам выложил [разг., откровенно  высказал] самое худшее, товарищи. По-видимому, я вас, ребята, запугал.  Но это ни в коем случае не входило в мои расчёты. Конечно, особенно-то  трусить [бояться] нечего. Волков бояться — в лес не ходить (В. Шишков,  Угрюм-река). Роман постоял, переминаясь с ноги на ногу, решая, идти или  нет. «Была не была — пойду. Волков бояться — в лес не ходить»,— и он  размашистым шагом направился вверх по улице (К. Седых, Даурия).  [Жмигулина:] Возьми мой платок, покройся хорошенько.. Никто тебя не  узнает. [Краснова:] Не было бы беды? [Жмигулина:] Волков бояться — в лес  не ходить (А. Островский, Грех да беда на кого не живёт).
Click to expand...


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## estreets

I would suggest another one that does not have exactly the same meaning but is one of my favourite ones 
Не зная броду, не суйся в воду


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## morzh

estreets said:


> I would suggest another one that does not have exactly the same meaning but is one of my favourite ones
> Не зная броду, не суйся в воду



You are right - nor exactly the same. We don't want to confuse Благо here. If you give the proverb the meaning of which is different, then you probably need to explain it, otherwise he will assume it means what he is looking for.

PS> My explanation: this proverb basically tells a person this: "if you don't know how to do something (especially risky) - don't do it".

Example:

- Васька на акциях прогорел. Вложил все в какую-то компанию, а она возьми, да и разорись через месяц.
- Не зная броду, не суйся в воду. Акции - не картошка, тут понимание требуется.

PS. There is a rude version of this proverb. Не можешь срать - не мучай жопу (don't torture you ass if you don't know how to shit) Sorry ladies.


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## morzh

Благо said:


> morzh said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not sure I understand, would you kindly care to elaborate?
> 
> Now seriously, yes I do understand, but...
> 
> OK, it seems to me that the saying that Explorer mentioned has to do more with "risk" than either "effort" or "consequences from a misdeed".
> 
> Если бояться трудностей или опасных последствий, то не стоит и начинать  какое-либо дело. Говорится, чтобы подбодрить себя или кого-то, когда  решаются на какое-либо опасное или неизвестное дело, связанное с риском.
> О   Не робеешь? Справишься? — Говорится, волков бояться — в лес не ходить  (Е. Карпов, Не родись счастливым). — Я вам выложил [разг., откровенно  высказал] самое худшее, товарищи. По-видимому, я вас, ребята, запугал.  Но это ни в коем случае не входило в мои расчёты. Конечно, особенно-то  трусить [бояться] нечего. Волков бояться — в лес не ходить (В. Шишков,  Угрюм-река). Роман постоял, переминаясь с ноги на ногу, решая, идти или  нет. «Была не была — пойду. Волков бояться — в лес не ходить»,— и он  размашистым шагом направился вверх по улице (К. Седых, Даурия).  [Жмигулина:] Возьми мой платок, покройся хорошенько.. Никто тебя не  узнает. [Краснова:] Не было бы беды? [Жмигулина:] Волков бояться — в лес  не ходить (А. Островский, Грех да беда на кого не живёт).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Correct. "No pain no gain" is a close one in English.
Click to expand...


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## Saluton

Благо said:


> Morzh, I thought that was "Работа - не волк, в лес и убежит"???


"Работа не волк, в лес не убежит" just means "I can resume my work at any time and I don't really care about it anyway". Not really an example of folk wisdom, of course...


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## Albertovna

Назвался груздем - полезай в кузов.
Взялся за гуж - не говори, что не дюж.
These two imply no crime, I must acknowledge. However, these are popular Russian proverbs.
One more saying about taking risks: Риск - дело благородное.


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## Maroseika

С волками жить, по-волчьи выть.
A crime is implied.


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## LilianaB

Why would this imply crime, Maroseika. Wolves are such nice animals. I think it just means that one becomes like the others if he lives with them or interacts with them.


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## Благо

Albertovna said:


> Назвался груздем - полезай в кузов.
> Взялся за гуж - не говори, что не дюж.
> These two imply no crime, I must acknowledge. However, these are popular Russian proverbs.
> One more saying about taking risks: Риск - дело благородное.



Thank you Albertnova, may I ask you what is their literal meaning (I understand the message, but not all the words)?


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## Благо

Maroseika said:


> С волками жить, по-волчьи выть.
> A crime is implied.



Thank you, Maroseika, this one is very similar to one I already knew: "Не за то волка бьют, что сер, а за то, что овцу съел", but your version fits better.


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## Albertovna

Благо said:


> Thank you Albertnova, may I ask you what is their *literal* meaning (I understand the message, but not all the words)?


Назвался груздем - полезай в кузов. - Once you have called yourself a milk mushroom, climb in the basket.
 Взялся за гуж - не говори, что не дюж. - Once you have handled the tug (=a rope, chain, or strap used in hauling), do not say you will not cope (Дюж is the short form of дюжий stalwart, hefty).
Риск - дело благородное. - Taking risks is noble.


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## Благо

Albertovna said:


> Назвался груздем - полезай в кузов. - Once you have called yourself a milk mushroom, climb in the basket.
> Взялся за гуж - не говори, что не дюж. - Once you have handled the tug (=a rope, chain, or strap used in hauling), do not say you will not cope (Дюж is the short form of дюжий stalwart, hefty).
> Риск - дело благородное. - Taking risks is noble.



Many thanks, Albertovna  While we're at it and since, we're already a bit off-topic, do you any Siberian-related sayings (apart from "мы желаем вам сибирского здоровья и кавказского долголетия", of course )


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## Explorer41

Maroseika said:


> С волками жить, по-волчьи выть.
> A crime is implied.


I'm sorry, I see no crime. I agree with LilianaB.



Благо said:


> No la hagas y no la temas


Новообразование в русском языке: "Заплатил налоги -- спи спокойно!"


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## Carrot Ironfoundersson

> I'm sorry, I see no crime. I agree with LilianaB.



I don't know whether crime is implied, but the meaning of this proverb(in my opinion at least) is that in hostile environment one has to be hostile himself in order to survive.


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## Albertovna

Благо said:


> Siberia-related sayings


*Дальше Сибири (вариант: дальше фронта) не сошлют, больше пули не дадут/меньше взвода не дадут.* - They will not exile you farther than Siberia (or: the frontier) or give you more/sentence you to more than a bullet./You will not be exiled farther than Siberia or get more than a bullet/less than a platoon under command. This is usually (but not always) said about the punishment for war crimes: you cannot get more than the worst; the punishment has its limits, and you should not be afraid.
*сибирский валенок* - a Siberian felt boot. This is said disparagingly about people living at the periphery (in Siberia), who are considered to be backward, uncultured, and not exactly brilliant (this is, of course, a prejudice).


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## Благо

Albertovna said:


> *Дальше Сибири (вариант: дальше фронта) не сошлют, больше пули не дадут/меньше взвода не дадут.* - They will not exile you farther than Siberia (or: the frontier) or give you more/sentence you to more than a bullet./You will not be exiled farther than Siberia or get more than a bullet/less than a platoon under command. This is usually (but not always) said about the punishment for war crimes: you cannot get more than the worst; the punishment has its limits, and you should not be afraid.
> *сибирский валенок* - a Siberian felt boot. This is said disparagingly about people living at the periphery (in Siberia), who are considered to be backward, uncultured, and not exactly brilliant (this is, of course, a prejudice).



How dare they?  - Thank you


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