"the chickens come home to roost" meaning in English

See the chickens come home to roost in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

Audio: En-au-the chickens come home to roost.ogg [Australia]
Etymology: 19th century. First attested as lies, like chickens, come home to roost, although the slightly later curses, like chickens, come home to roost was more common. Both are often said to be Spanish or Turkish in origin. The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs notes that Geoffrey Chaucer wrote in The Parson's Tale: “And ofte tyme swich cursynge wrongfully retorneth agayn to hym that curseth, as a bryd that retorneth agayn to his owene nest.” Etymology templates: {{m|en|curses, like chickens, come home to roost}} curses, like chickens, come home to roost Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=the chickens come home to roost}} the chickens come home to roost
  1. (idiomatic) A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them. Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: come home to roost, curses, like chickens Related terms: evil be to him who evil thinks, karma, old sins have long shadows, reap what one sows, sow the wind, reap the whirlwind, what goes around comes around Translations (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)): 害人害己 (hàirénhàijǐ) (Chinese Mandarin), minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytää (Finnish), niin makaat kuin petaat (Finnish), tutti i nodi vengono al pettine (Italian), 人を呪わば穴二つ (hito wo norowaba ana futatsu) (Japanese), cierp ciało, skoroś chciało (Polish), Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul (Romanian), не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь (ne roj jámu drugómu, sam v nejó popadjóšʹ) (Russian), как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется (kak aúknetsja, tak i otklíknetsja) (Russian), la cabra siempre tira al monte (Spanish), de aquellos polvos, estos lodos (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-the_chickens_come_home_to_roost-en-proverb-JvI~cfLg Categories (other): English proverbs, Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for the chickens come home to roost meaning in English (5.4kB)

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          "text": "1846, Lydia Maria Child, The Mother's Book, C.S. Francis & Co. (6th ed., 1st ed. from 1844), page 98.\nNever were truer words than the Spanish proverb, ‘All lies, like chickens, come home to roost.’",
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        "(idiomatic) A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them."
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          "word": "evil be to him who evil thinks"
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          "word": "karma"
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          "word": "old sins have long shadows"
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          "word": "reap what one sows"
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          "code": "cmn",
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          "roman": "hàirénhàijǐ",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "害人害己"
        },
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          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytää"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "niin makaat kuin petaat"
        },
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          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "tutti i nodi vengono al pettine"
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          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
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          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "人を呪わば穴二つ"
        },
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          "code": "pl",
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          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "cierp ciało, skoroś chciało"
        },
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          "code": "ro",
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul"
        },
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          "roman": "ne roj jámu drugómu, sam v nejó popadjóšʹ",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь"
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          "code": "ru",
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          "roman": "kak aúknetsja, tak i otklíknetsja",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется"
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          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "la cabra siempre tira al monte"
        },
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          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
          "word": "de aquellos polvos, estos lodos"
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      "word": "old sins have long shadows"
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      "word": "reap what one sows"
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      "word": "sow the wind"
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      "word": "what goes around comes around"
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          "type": "quotation"
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        "(idiomatic) A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them."
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      "word": "come home to roost"
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    {
      "word": "curses"
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    {
      "word": "like chickens"
    }
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "hàirénhàijǐ",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "害人害己"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytää"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "niin makaat kuin petaat"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "tutti i nodi vengono al pettine"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "hito wo norowaba ana futatsu",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "人を呪わば穴二つ"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "cierp ciało, skoroś chciało"
    },
    {
      "code": "ro",
      "lang": "Romanian",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ne roj jámu drugómu, sam v nejó popadjóšʹ",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "kak aúknetsja, tak i otklíknetsja",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "la cabra siempre tira al monte"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)",
      "word": "de aquellos polvos, estos lodos"
    }
  ],
  "word": "the chickens come home to roost"
}

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