овчинка выделки не стоит

• ОВЧИНКА ВЫДЕЛКИ НЕ СТОИТ{{}}

[saying]

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⇒ the matter in question is not worth the time, energy, resources spent on it:

- - the game isn't worth the candle;

- it's more trouble than it's worth;

- it's not worth the trouble;

- it won't pay.

     ♦ Относись к своей работе как ко всякой работе, дающей средства существования, но не вкладывай в неё душу. Овчинка выделки не стоит (Зиновьев 2). Consider your work like any job that keeps you in food, but don't try to put your soul into it. The game isn't worth the candle (2a).

     ♦ ...Ведь для этой десятиминутной игры Брюсову пришлось выучить наизусть с полсотни трудных и плохо запоминающихся строк. Забава была в стиле десятых годов, но стоила ли овчинка выделки? (Мандельштам 2). ...For the sake of his ten minutes' fun, Briusov must have learned by heart at least fifty difficult and not very memorable lines. It was a practical joke very much in the style of the pre-Revolutionary years, but was it really worth all the trouble? (2a).