Vocabulary:

Penny = £0.01 or $0.01

Nickel = $0.05

Dime = $0.10

Quarter = $0.25

Dollar = $1.00

Pound = £1.00, (or 0.454kg)

This expression is used to justify continuing on since the first step has already been taken.  Basically, it’s saying, we’ve already come this far, why not a bit further?  It’s also used to say that if you participate in an activity, regardless of how small the role was, you are still considered a full participant.  There are UK- and US-specific versions, depending on local currency and alliteration.  Spanish speakers use a similar expression, something about being lost and going to a river…our expression, while meaning the same thing, looks completely different!

Billy was only a lookout during the bank robbery, but he got the same 20-year prison sentence as the men emptying the vault.  The judge told him, “In for a dime, in for a dollar”.

I thought painting the house wasn’t going to be this hard, but it’s so hot outside today!  Still, I’ve already begun, and I can’t leave it unfinished: in for a penny, in for a pound.