Idiom meaning, usage examples, facts

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PAY THE PIPER

to pay for one’s mistakes; to live with the consequences of one’s (wrong) actions
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1. Catherine thought she could play her way through school, and now she has to stay after class to make up her failed grades. She should have known she would have to pay the piper.
2. I cheated people out of their money. I got caught, and now I’m in prison, paying the piper for what I did.

A piper is a musician who plays on a pipe.


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