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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.

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

Time to pay the piper, so to speak.

From Washington Post • Mar. 22, 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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.