the chickens come home to roost en · X
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
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.”
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them.
Malcolm X ain't never lie; Chickens do come home to roost! And you would think that a senator from Kentucky would know that better than anyone.
2020 March 22, Brooklyn Baldwin, “Rand Paul, Staunch Opponent of Coronavirus Healthcare Package, Diagnosed with Coronavirus”, in The Root:Opponents see the latest indictments as a case of the chickens coming home to roost.
Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad.
1963, Malcolm X, speech, December 1, 19631846, Lydia Maria Child, The Mother's Book, C.S. Francis & Co. (6th ed., 1st ed. from 1844), page 98. Never were truer words than the Spanish proverb, ‘All lies, like chickens, come home to roost.’
I suppose you could blame it on my generation, chickens from the 60s finally coming into roost.
1995, Loudon Wainwright III, Cobwebs:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| come home to roost | alternative | lexicographic | |
| curses, like chickens, come home to roost | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
old sins have long shadows · evil be to him who evil thinks · reap what one sows · fuck around and find out · play stupid games, win stupid prizes · what goes around comes around · sow the wind, reap the whirlwind · karma
Translations (14)
es la cabra siempre tira al monte (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · uz Qilgan koʻradi ekkan oʻradi (Qilgan koʻradi ekkan oʻradi) (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · it tutti i nodi vengono al pettine (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · ro Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · cmn 惡有惡報 /恶有恶报 (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · es de aquellos polvos, estos lodos (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · ja 人を呪わば穴二つ (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · fi niin makaat kuin petaat (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · cmn 害人害己 (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · fi minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytää (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · cmn 咎由自取 (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · pl cierp ciało, skoroś chciało (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · ru не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)) · ru как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется (a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom))