Idiom
pay the penalty
Meaning
To incur negative consequences of one's deeds; to suffer as a result of some choice.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“If you break the rules, you must pay the penalty.”
“He ignored the warning signs about his health and eventually had to pay the penalty with a long hospital stay.”
“Those who choose to ignore the long-term environmental consequences of their industrial practices will eventually pay the penalty when the natural resources are exhausted.”
Examples
simple
“If you break the rules, you must pay the penalty.”
contextual
“He ignored the warning signs about his health and eventually had to pay the penalty with a long hospital stay.”
complex
“Those who choose to ignore the long-term environmental consequences of their industrial practices will eventually pay the penalty when the natural resources are exhausted.”
Key words
Related idioms
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