paying the piper
Accepting due reckoning
Paying the piper means accepting the consequences of one's actions or choices, especially after a period of indulgence or avoidance.
The phrase comes from the idea that whoever pays the musician controls the tune—so if you've enjoyed the music, eventually the bill comes due: After years of reckless spending, they're finally paying the piper.
Often used to suggest that delayed reckoning is inevitable.
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- duesRegular membership payments
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- folk taleTraditional oral narrative
justice · settlement · reckoning · chickens come home · fairness · karmic debt · penalty · fable · aftermath · allegory · culpability · comeuppance · just desserts · liability · idiom · face the music · day of reckoning · compensation
paying the pipergetting away with it
kicking the can down the road · passing the buck · slipping through the cracks · having one's cake and eating it too · blaming others
paying the piperfreeloading
Exploiting others' generosity
having one's cake and eating it too · kicking the can down the road · welching
payer, paying, payable, payment, payments, payers, repaid, repaying, repayment