in for a penny, in for a pound; once you've started, you might as well go all the way
Proverb meaning that once you have done something bad or risky, you should see it through to the end. The literal image is 'if you've eaten poison, (lick) the plate.' Used to encourage full commitment after a first step, often in a negative or resigned context.
We've come this far already. In for a penny, in for a pound.
As if to say 'in for a penny, in for a pound,' he embezzled company money.
Similar proverb meaning 'once you're on board, you can't get off,' but 毒を食らわば皿まで has a stronger nuance of doing something bad or risky and then going all the way.
Standard kanji spelling for this proverb.
Variant using 喰らう, a less common kanji for 'eat'.
A Japanese proverb of uncertain origin. The literal meaning is 'if you eat poison, (lick) the plate,' suggesting that once you have consumed something harmful, you might as well finish it completely. The phrase uses the classical conditional form 食らわば (modern 食らえば).