Literal translation
one time does not make a whore
Meaning
to err is human, but don't do it twice
Explanation
This expression means that to err is human, but one must not do it twice, a phrase that tolerates a single lapse while refusing to let it become a habit. The image, deliberately crude, compares a one-off fault or lapse in behaviour to a single episode which, alone, would not be enough to make someone a puto, a vulgar word for a prostitute: it is repetition, not the isolated act, that would build a lasting reputation or identity. The underlying logic echoes a common moral principle whereby a behaviour judged wrong only truly becomes condemnable through its systematic character, the exception remaining excusable. The word còup, meaning a blow, a time, a turn, relates to the more common form cop, attested in our sources with the same threefold sense. The register is very familiar, even vulgar given the choice of the word puto, and is used mainly among close acquaintances or in unguarded conversation, never in a formal setting. The phrase typically serves to play down a one-off lapse, one's own or someone else's, while implicitly setting a clear line not to be crossed a second time.