Hang for a Sheep

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Yes, hi, how are you? This is Rick Bethel. I’m actually in Rouse’s Point, New York, on a project.

Okay.

What would you like to talk with us about?

I had a boss years and years ago that used to use this phrase, and I never quite knew what it meant.

And I’m not even sure he said it properly, but it was, hang for a sheep as a lamb.

Hang for a sheep as a lamb.

Hang for a sheep as a lamb. And in what context would your boss use that?

I think it was more like go for broke.

I mean, if you’re going to go for it, go all the way.

I think that’s what he meant.

But I never quite understood where that saying came from.

And I don’t know that I’ve ever heard it ever again.

There may have been one time watching an old-time movie where I might have heard Kirk Douglas use it, but this would have been like a 1940s movie.

And that’s the only other time I’ve heard it.

So kind of in for a penny, in for a pound?

I guess so, yeah.

And I think it might be supposed to be hang as for a sheep as for a lamb.

Maybe that’s the way it was supposed to be said.

Yeah, the idea is go big or go home, right?

So he would use it to encourage you all?

Yeah, oh, absolutely.

Yeah, go for it.

Hey, you might as well go.

If you’re going to go, go all in.

Go all in.

And it never, I’ve always thought of it, and I always, I don’t know that I’ve used it much myself, but I do think about it whenever I’m at that point in my life.

Hey, what should I do here?

Well, hang for a sheep as a lamb.

Yeah, that’s an interesting variation on a very, very, very old expression.

Often you see it as might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb or something like that.

And it actually goes back to the tradition in England of capital punishment for some kinds of crimes.

If somebody stole a sheep, there was a point where people would be hanged for that if they were caught for that crime.

So the idea is if you’re going to steal something, you might as well steal something really valuable rather than just a little lamb.

Steal a sheep because you’re running the same risk.

You know, it’s sort of like would you rather get hit by a fire truck or a bus?

Yeah, good point.

Yeah, but it goes all the way back to the 17th century at least.

There’s a book of English Proverbs that uses the phrase, as good be hanged for an old sheep as a young lamb.

And it’s the same idea.

Again, you might as well just go for it.

Okay.

Well, thank you so much.

I appreciate that.

It’s our pleasure.

Thanks for calling.

Okay.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Thanks, Rick.

In one of the Scots proverb dictionaries, they have a variant which connects to a word that you know the origin of, as well be hanged for a wedder as for a lamb, W-E-D-D-E-R.

And you know where I’m going with this, right?

The word bellwether refers to a bell on a weather, and a weather is a male sheep often castrated, which when you castrate an animal, often they grow bigger and stronger and boss the rest of their animals around, the rest of the herd around, without the sexual drive.

Anyway, so a bellwether was the sheep wearing the bell so you could hear where they were out in the pastures and you wouldn’t have to hunt them up.

Right, right.

It kind of led the others and led you to where they were.

Yeah, you know where they were anyway.

So might as well be hung for stealing a wetter as for a lamb.

Wetter being a big, burly sheep with a lot of muscle.

Language.

Language.

Story in a single word.

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