pay dividends
Produce beneficial results
To pay dividends is to yield benefits or rewards over time, especially as a return on earlier effort or investment.
The phrase comes from finance, where dividends are profits distributed to shareholders: The company pays dividends quarterly.
The figurative sense is now equally common: All that practice is starting to pay dividends, Patience will pay dividends in the end.
- profitGain exceeding expenditure
- benefitAdvantage or gain
- advantageFavorable position or circumstance
- fruitfulProducing abundant results
- returnGo back again
productive · reward · yield · steady income · pay off · make good on · long term · bear fruit · persistence · patience · worthwhile · commitment · sacrifice · put in the work · effort · make good · discipline · shareholder value
pay dividendsbackfire
Yield unintended consequences
blow up in one's face · come back to haunt · come to nothing · loss · fall flat
pay dividendsinstant gratification
Satisfaction without delay
short-term thinking · quick fix · live for today · immediate gratification · flash in the pan
pay dividendsgo to waste
Fail to be utilized
come to naught · fall flat · fizzle out · peter out · go nowhere
pays, paid, paying, payable, payment, payments, payer, payers, payee