the chickens come home to roost
A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“His past lies are finally coming home to roost.”
“The chickens come home to roost when your lazy habits cause you to fail.”
“After years of ignoring his debt, the bank finally seized his property as his chickens came home to roost.”
“The manager treated her staff poorly for years, but now the chickens have come home to roost because no one will help her finish the big project.”
“The politician realized that his long history of broken promises had finally come home to roost, as voters turned against him in the final days of the campaign.”
disputed origin
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.”
- 01
appetite comes with eating
Starting an activity increases one's desire to continue it.
- 02
as they come
As it is possible to be.
- 03
blow to kingdom come
To totally destroy (something); to annihilate or wipe out (something).
- 04
bring home
To earn (money).
- 05
bring home the bacon
To have employment which provides remuneration to satisfy the basic needs of oneself and one's family.
- 06
broken home
A home in which the parents have separated or divorced.
- 07
burn that bridge when one comes to it
To anticipate dealing with a problem or situation either by acting in a manner that alienates or cuts ties with others, or merely with the expectation of encountering trouble.
- 08
charity begins at home
One should help the people closest to oneself before thinking of helping others.
Last updated August 10, 2026