noun a person who plays on a pipe . a bagpiper.
Idioms pay the piper , to pay the cost of something. to bear the unfavorable consequences of one's actions or pleasures: Someday he'll have to pay the piper for all that gambling. Show More
Origin of piper before 1000; Middle English; Old English pīpere. See
pipe1 ,
-er1 Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for pay the piper noun a person who plays a pipe or bagpipes
pay the piper and call the tune to bear the cost of an undertaking and control it
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noun John. 1903–92, British artist. An official war artist in World War II, he is known esp for his watercolours of bombed churches and his stained glass in Coventry Cathedral
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pay the piper n. Old English pipere , agent noun from pipe (v.). As a kind of fish, from c.1600. Expression pay the piper recorded from 1680s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
To pay the consequences for self-indulgent behavior: “If you stay up late at night to watch TV, in the morning you will have to pay the piper.”
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with pay the piper see call the tune (pay the piper).
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
