you can't be half pregnant

proverb You either are pregnant or you aren't. Thus, this phrase is used of situations that are clearly and definitively one way and not another. If we choose to break off from the company and establish our own firm, then that's what we have to commit to—you can't be half pregnant, you understand?

you can't be half pregnant

you can't be a little bit pregnant

People say you can't be half pregnant or you can't be a little bit pregnant to talk about situations which are very clear and definite or where you need to be completely involved. We did, however, pick up a valuable lesson: you can't be half-pregnant. To be successful in business, you must be able to give it your full commitment. He opposed sending in troops because, as he puts it, `there was no such thing as being a little bit pregnant': once the step had been taken, it would be impossible to set limits.