pay the fiddler
face the music
To pay the fiddler means to face the consequences of one's actions or to bear the cost of pleasures enjoyed.
The expression derives from the idea that someone must compensate the musician who provided entertainment—if you danced, you owe for the music.
It often carries a moralizing tone, suggesting that indulgence or recklessness will eventually demand a reckoning.
After years of neglecting his health, he's now paying the fiddler.
- consequencesResults of actions taken
- reckoningSettlement of accounts
- duesRegular membership payments
- amendsCompensation for wrongdoing
- karmaSpiritual cause and effect
aftermath · repercussions · moment of truth · accountability · own up to · responsibility · debt · comeuppance · face the music · bite the bullet · cost · obligation · justice · penalty · recompense · fee · liability · penance
pay the fiddlerpass the buck
Transfer responsibility elsewhere
get away with it · skate by · slip through the cracks · weasel out
pay, pays, paid, paying, payer, payee, payment, payments, payable