Dictionary

make one's bed and lie in it en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To create a difficult situation whose unpleasant consequences one must now endure.
   • It was true that he had made his own bed, and he understood the justice which required him to lie upon it. 1861, Anthony Trollope, chapter 27, in Framley Parsonage:
   • Harry said, "It's too bad, but of course we couldn't attempt to smuggle him. The old man has made his bed and he must lie in it." 1949, Upton Sinclair, O Shepherd, Speak! Part I, reprinted, published 2001, →ISBN, page 120:
   • What has happened is that all the horrible moves he made during his first term . . . are perfectly evident to all. Bush made his bed during his first four years, and now he has to lie in it. 2005 November 26, Bob Kropfli, “Letters: Second-Term Blues”, in Time:
   • [...] one of the falsest of proverbs is that you must lie on the bed that you have made. The experience of life shows that people are constantly doing things which must lead to disaster, and yet by some chance manage to evade the result of their folly. 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 33”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
   • He had made his own bed, chosen his own course in life, taking the path of easy money over hard work and initiative. 2010, Arlynn Leiber Presser, Blue-Jeaned Prince, →ISBN, page 149:
   • “Saakashvili made his own bed,” said Nick Witney, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Affairs and the former chief executive of the European Defense Agency. “It was a pretty catastrophic miscalculation.” 2008 August 21, Steven Erlanger, “Europe Grows Impatient as Delays Pile Up in Georgia”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 Jun 2011:

Forms

Relateds

reap what one sows · you make the bed you lie in · bring one's own hide to market · stew in one's juices · play stupid games, win stupid prizes · as you make your bed, so you must lie in it

Translations (18)

tr kendin ettin, kendin buldun (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · hu ki mint veti ágyát, úgy alussza álmát (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · hak 自家屙屎自家食 (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · nb som man reder, så ligger man (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · lt kad prisivirei košės, tai ir srėbk (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · it hai voluto la bicicletta? adesso pedala (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · fi niin makaat kuin petaat (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · lt kaip pasiklosi, taip išmiegosi (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · es quien mala cama hace en ella se yace (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · ko 자업자득 (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · ja 自業自得 (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · fr comme on fait son lit, on se couche (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · sv den som sig i leken ger, får leken tåla (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · sv som man bäddar får man ligga (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · es a lo hecho, pecho (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · pl nawarzyć piwa (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · fi kiehua omassa liemessään (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences) · it hai voluto la bicicletta e adesso pedala (to create a difficult situation and endure unpleasant consequences)