face the music

Cultural  

1. To accept unpleasant consequences: “After several years of cheating his employer, the embezzler finally had to face the music.”

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face the music Idioms  

1. Confront unpleasantness, especially the consequences of one's errors. For example, When the check bounced, he had to face the music. The precise allusion in this expression has been lost. Most authorities believe it refers to a theater's pit orchestra, which an actor must face when he faces what can be a hostile audience, but some hold it comes from the military, where a formal dismissal in disgrace would be accompanied by band music. [Second half of 1800s] Also see face up to.

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Example Sentences

“Nobody was willing to face the music and request the rate hikes to do that necessary work,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2025

Prosecutors said Mr Smith was set to finally "face the music" following their investigation, which also involved the FBI.

From BBC • Sep. 6, 2024

It's fun watching such bad guys face the music, but there is one thing all these cases are lacking, if one craves a satisfying tale of crime and punishment: Sympathetic victims.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2023

Here’s why his efforts to not face the music in Fulton County should ultimately fail.

From Slate • Aug. 23, 2023

Then it would be time to get dressed and face the music, so to speak, but not yet.

From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood