Keeping a shop in this village is not a paying proposition, ie not profitable .

在这个村子里开设商店是一桩亏本的买卖。

youdao

If what we lose is territory and what we gain is victory over the enemy, plus recovery and also expansion of our territory, then it is a paying proposition.

如果我们丧失的是土地，而取得的是战胜敌人，加恢复土地，再加扩大土地，这是赚钱生意。

youdao

Money fled that money-losing proposition to unofficial lenders paying higher rates for deposits because they were charging, not the official 6.5% rate for a loan, but 30% to 70%.

资金之所以逃离亏本行业，逃向存款利率更高的非官方放贷处，是因为它们给付的利息不是官方贷款的6.5%，而是30 - 70%。

youdao

Limiting your investment to 100 or so stocks in a typical mutual fund and paying a 1.2% expense ratio in the process is often a losing proposition.

FORBES: Your Portfolio Needs Rebalancing

By the same token, a route that links Disney World, a convention centre, two airports and two of Florida's biggest cities sounds like a reasonable commercial proposition, especially when the federal government is paying most of the bill.

ECONOMIST: Don��t sell your car just yet