承担后果

    Pay the piper字面解释是“付钱给吹笛子的人”，这个短语是什么意思呢？请看对话：

    A: Where did you go during the winter vacation?

    B: I stayed home. After fooling around for most of the semester, I had to pay the piper and study over vacation.

    Note: Similar to idioms like “pay the price” and “face the music,” this means to “face the results of one’s actions and receive punishment for something.” The earliest reference was “Who pays the piper, calls the tune” in 1611. Some people also attribute the idiom to folklore “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” After the piper charmed the rats away from the city, the townsfolk refused to pay him since the job was already done. So he charmed their children away and the town was devastated. Therefore, the townsfolk finally paid a heavy price for not keeping their promise.