| English | Russian |
| whether you boil snow or pound it, you can have but water of it | воду толочь – вода будет (useless and senseless work always results in nothing) |
| whether you boil snow or pound it, you can have but water of it | воду в ступе толочь – вода и будет (useless and senseless work always results in nothing) |
| whether you boil snow or pound it, you can have but water of it | воду в ступе толочь – вода будет (useless and senseless work always results in nothing) |
| whether you boil snow or pound it, you can have but water of it | воду толочь – вода и будет (useless and senseless work always results in nothing) |
| you can't eat your cake and have it | нельзя и рыбку съесть, и на х.. сесть |
| you can't eat your cake and have it | нельзя делать две взаимно исключающие друг друга вещи (Bobrovska) |
| you can't eat your cake and have it | нельзя ступить в воду, не замочив ног |
| you can't eat your cake and have it | нельзя и невинность соблюсти, и капитал приобрести |
| you can't have your cake and eat it too | любишь кататься, люби и саночки возить (Супру) |
| you can't have your cake and eat it, too | нельзя иметь и то, и другое (АБ Berezitsky) |
