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Synonyms

pay the piper

Cultural  
  1. 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.”


pay the piper Idioms  
  1. see under call the tune.


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

He’ll be happy merely going to his grave never having to pay the piper.

From Salon Mar. 13, 2025

Now the time has come for Jake to pay the piper.

From Fox News Aug. 20, 2021

After all the theatrical fun and games, you’ll eventually have to pay the piper.

From New York Times Feb. 18, 2020

“We will pay the piper on the other end — whatever the board decides we need to do.”

From Washington Post Oct. 26, 2018

Somehow she had found out, and we were going down to Stuyvesant together to pay the piper.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

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