П-103

ЧТО НАПИСАНО ПЕРОМ, ТОГО НЕ ВЫРУБИШЬ ТОПОРОМ (saying) when some statement has been put in writing (and read by others), it cannot be changed (said when great importance is attributed to what has been written): - that which is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an ax(e) a written word cannot be hewn out with an ax(e) a word that has been written down cannot be cut out with an ax(e) the written word remains.

«Всё, что на бумаге, это уже не личное слово. Что написано пером, того не вырубить топором» (Айтматов 2). "Once а thought is down on paper, it's no longer personal. That which is written with a pen cannot be cut out with an axe" (2a).

Произнесённое метко, всё равно что писаное, не вырубливается топором. А уж куда бывает метко всё то, что вышло из глубины Руси... (Гоголь 3). A neatly uttered word is like a word that has been written down and that, according to the Russian proverb, cannot be cut out with an axe. And how wonderfully apt are the sayings that come out of the depths of Russia... (3a).