making one's bed and lying in it
Owning your choices
Making one's bed and lying in it means accepting the consequences of one's own choices or actions.
The image is of preparing a sleeping place and then being stuck with however comfortable or uncomfortable you've made it.
Usually invoked when someone complains about a situation they created: You chose to skip the meeting—you made your bed, now lie in it.
The phrase assigns responsibility rather than offering sympathy.
- ownershipLegal right of possession
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- outcomesFinal results achieved
- cause and effectHow events produce results
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
personal responsibility · obligation · results · fallout · duty · ramifications · aftermath · penalties · comeuppance · effects · just deserts · face the music · self-reliance · impact · learning · reflection · maturity · tough love
making one's bed and lying in itblaming others
Assigning fault elsewhere
passing the buck · scapegoating · finger-pointing · making excuses · buck-passing
making one's bed and lying in itplaying the victim
victim mentality · innocent suffering · bad luck · fate · misfortune