“Either the nail goes in, or the board cracks.”

Indicates that something will happen one way or another, inevitably.

Translation in spanish

“O entra el clavo, o se raja la tabla.”

Indica que algo sucederá de una manera u otra, inevitablemente.

Phonetic:
/Oh ehn-trah ehl klah-voh, oh seh rah-hah lah tah-blah/