С-399

ДВУМ СМЕРТЯМ (ДВУХ СМЕРТЕЙ) НЕ БЫВАТЬ, А ОДНОЙ НЕ МИНОВАТЬ (saying) the inevitable is going to happen whether or not one takes a risk (said to encourage a person who is about to undertake a risky venture, or to justify one's own decision to undertake such a venture): = you (a man ) can only die once (and you'll (he'll) die one day anyway) a man can die but once one cannot die twice.

«Городок у нас хоть и старинный, а маленький, работать негде, парни после армии домой не едут, вот девчата наши и наладились в Игарку вербоваться... Я сперва не хотела, очень уж боязно, говорят, пьянка там большая и ночь долгая, да где наша не пропадала, двух смертей не бывать, одной не миновать, нынче вот собралась...» (Максимов 2). "This town of ours is old, but it's so small there isn't much work. After they've done their time in the army the boys never come back here, so the girls have taken to going to Igarka to look for jobs. . I didn't want to go at first, I was too frightened. People said there was an awful lot of hard drinking there, and the nights are long, but in the end I thought 'nothing venture, nothing gain,' you can only die once and you'll die one day anyway, why not give it a try? So now I'm on my way there" (2a).