one might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
It's just as well to take a big risk as a small one
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Thay vào đó, nên chấp nhận rủi ro lớn như rủi ro nhỏ
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: being executed for stealing a large animal or a small one
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “one might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb” mean?
It's just as well to take a big risk as a small one Literally: being executed for stealing a large animal or a small one
Is “one might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“Đèn nhà ai nấy sáng” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.