Many people have heard the phrase “curiosity killed the cat,” which is a proverb that warns against the dangers of being too curious, or being too interested in things that would be better if you left them alone. For example, a cat may become curious about the inside of a car engine and climb in and get badly hurt or die. Not everyone knows, however, that there is a second part to this proverb, and it changes the meaning entirely!

The full phrase is  “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.” So, the cat may have “died” from being too nosy, or gotten into trouble, but in the end it was worth the pain or discomfort.

皆さんも「好奇心は猫をも殺す」とう言葉を聞かれた事があるでしょうか。そもそも何故猫なのか？と思われる方もいらっしゃるかと思いますが、猫は動物の中でも一番好奇心旺盛な生き物。Cat has nine lives.「猫に九生あり/猫は容易には死なない」という別の諺があるくらいの猫ですら、「過剰な好奇心は身を滅ぼす原因になる」と戒めを伝えている諺になります。

続きを加えた言い回しになると、「過剰な好奇心により問題や困難に直面するものの、その見返りの満足感には代えられない」という感じですね。