| 释义 |
pay the piper
pay 1 P0124900 (pā)v. paid (pād), pay·ing, pays v.tr.1. To give money to in return for goods or services rendered: pay the cashier.2. To give (money) in exchange for goods or services: paid four dollars for a hamburger; paid an hourly wage.3. To discharge or settle (a debt or obligation): paying taxes; paid the bill.4. To bear (a cost or penalty, for example) in recompense: She paid the price for her unpopular opinions.5. To yield as a return: a savings plan that paid six percent interest.6. To afford an advantage to; profit: It paid us to be generous.7. To give or bestow: paying compliments; paying attention.8. To make (a visit or call).9. Past tense and past participle paid or payed (pād) To let out (a line or cable) by slackening.v.intr.1. To give money in exchange for goods or services.2. To discharge a debt or obligation.3. To bear a cost or penalty in recompense: You'll pay for this mischief!4. To be profitable or worthwhile: It doesn't pay to get angry.adj.1. Of, relating to, giving, or receiving payments.2. Requiring payment to use or operate: a pay toilet.3. Yielding valuable metal in mining: a pay streak.n.1. The act of paying or state of being paid.2. Money given in return for work done; salary; wages.3. a. Recompense or reward: Your thanks are pay enough.b. Retribution or punishment.4. Paid employment: the workers in our pay.5. A person considered with regard to his or her credit or reliability in discharging debts.Phrasal Verbs: pay back1. To pay or return (what is owed as a debt).2. To repay (a person who is owed a debt).3. To give recompense to; reward: How can we ever pay you back for what you've done for us?4. To reciprocate; return: pay back a kindness.5. To retaliate against or get revenge upon. pay down To reduce (a debt) through payment. pay off1. To pay the full amount on (a debt).2. To result in profit or advantage; succeed: Your efforts will eventually pay off.3. To pay the wages due to (an employee) upon discharge.4. To pay (a plaintiff) to settle a lawsuit out of court.5. To bribe.6. Nautical To turn or cause to turn (a vessel) to leeward. pay out1. To give (money) out; spend.2. To let out (a line or rope) by slackening. pay up To give over the full monetary amount demanded.Idioms: pay (one's) dues To earn a given right or position through hard work, long-term experience, or suffering: She paid her dues in small-town theaters before being cast in a Broadway play. pay (one's) way To contribute one's own share; pay for oneself. pay the piper To bear the consequences of something. pay through the nose Informal To pay excessively.
[Middle English paien, from Old French paiier, from Late Latin pācāre, to appease, from Latin, to pacify, subdue, from pāx, pāc-, peace; see pag- in Indo-European roots.]
pay 2 P0124900 (pā)tr.v. payed or paid (pād), pay·ing, pays To coat or cover (seams of a ship, for example) with waterproof material such as tar or asphalt.
[Obsolete French peier, from Old French, from Latin picāre, from pix, pic-, pitch.]pay the piperTo face up to the consequences of what you have done; from the idea of enjoying a dance to piper’s music and then having to pay the musician.
pay the piper
pay the piperTo face, accept, or suffer repercussions for one's actions or words, especially those that would be expected to incur punishment. After three nights of heavy drinking, I'm really going to be paying the piper come Monday morning! With the judge handing down the maximum possible sentence, this monster will be paying the piper for the rest of his life.See also: pay, piperpay the piperFig. to face the results of one's actions; to receive punishment for something. You can put off paying your debts only so long. Eventually you'll have to pay the piper. You can't get away with that forever. You'll have to pay the piper someday.See also: pay, piperpay the pipersee under call the tune. See also: pay, piperpay the piper pay the cost of an enterprise. informal This expression comes from the proverb he who pays the piper calls the tune , and is used with the implication that the person who has paid expects to be in control of whatever happens.See also: pay, piper pay the piper To bear the consequences of something.See also: pay, piperpay the piper, toTo bear the cost. This term refers to the musician who provides entertainment and the host’s obligation to pay him or her. “Always those that dance must pay the musicke” is an early version of the current term used by John Taylor (Taylor’s Feast, 1638). A late nineteenth-century addition was that he who does pay should call the tune—that is, the person who bears the cost may choose just what he or she is paying for. “I am going to pay the piper and call the tune,” wrote Shaw (Major Barbara, 1905).See also: paypay the piperBe forced to acknowledge and accept an unpleasant consequence of your action. The full expression is “Who pays the piper calls the tune,” which is to say that money calls the shots (“Money makes the mare go” is the same idea). But although a request can be melodious, the phrase came to have an unpleasant connotation, as if the music that the piper produced was not what was anticipated. For example, you tell your supervisor and your colleagues that you can undertake and finish an important assignment in two days, but you can't. As your supervisor takes you to task, you silently admit that you bit off more than you could chew—you're paying the piper.See also: pay, piperLegalSeepayPay the Piper
Pay the Piper1. To repay a debt.
2. To face a coming punishment, especially if one has made a serious mistake. One pays the piper by facing the wronged supervisor or client. |