paying the price
Suffering the fallout
Paying the price means suffering the consequences of one's actions or choices.
The metaphor treats hardship as a cost that must be settled: He partied all semester and now he's paying the price.
The price paid may be deserved or simply inevitable—the natural result of a decision, not necessarily a punishment.
Sometimes used for sacrifices made to achieve something: She paid the price for success with years of grueling work.
- penalizeImpose a disadvantage for wrongdoing
- fineAcceptable in quality
- costRequired payment amount
- dingSmall surface imperfection
- payWages for work
settling up · punishment · face the music · atonement · charge · suffering · bitter pill · comeuppance · day of reckoning · expense · aftermath · learning the hard way · regret · guilt · reckoning · restitution · fallout · hardship