if you can't do the time, don't do the crime

proverb

One should not carry out an action if one is unwilling to handle the consequences.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. One should not carry out an action if one is unwilling to handle the consequences.

Origin

From do time (“to serve a prison sentence”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20you%20can't%20do%20the%20time%2C%20don't%20do%20the%20crime

MLA

“if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20you%20can't%20do%20the%20time%2C%20don't%20do%20the%20crime. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “if you can't do the time, don't do the crime,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20you%20can't%20do%20the%20time%2C%20don't%20do%20the%20crime.

Source: if you can't do the time, don't do the crime on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.