🕺 Pay the Piper: Avoiding Costly Clichés 💸
Ah, “to pay the piper!” This age-old phrase has little to do with seedy alleyways or encounters with your neighborhood bagpipe player. No siree! It’s all about bearing the cost for something we’ve inevitably indulged in. Allow me to take you on a frolicsome journey uncovering gems from the annals of phraseology.
Do you realize this phrase waltzes back to ye olde days when musicians literally awaited your coinage for supplying rhythmic delights at soirees, banquets—or perhaps a medieval rave? In 1638, John Taylor expressed it crisply with, “Always those that dance must pay the musicke,” serving us antiquated but melody-filled wisdom.
Now, brace yourself for some highfalutin advice from none other than George Bernard Shaw who sharply reminded us in “Major Barbara” (1905), “I am going to pay the piper and call the tune.” Because, darling reader, he who holds the purse strings commands the harmonies.
Related Terms & Expressions 🎶
- Foot the bill: Be the one to settle the accounts.
- Call the shots: Make the key decisions, often financially speaking.
- Pay the price: Encounter the consequences (usually negative) for actions taken.
- Shell out: Dispense money, often reluctantly.
- Pick up the tab: Informally indicating financial responsibility.
Proverbs & Common Phrases
- “Those who dance must pay the fiddler.”
- “You’ve made your bed, now lie in it.”
Humor-Filled Quotes 🕺😂
- “Why spend money on a piper when you can enjoy the sound of coins clinking together?” — Anon.
- “Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can rent an excellent piper.” — Millpond Mirth
Suggested Reads, Listens & Watches 📚🎬
- Literature: “Major Barbara” by George Bernard Shaw
- Song: “The Shepherd’s Song” by Rachmaninoff (Instrumental, for your mental piper-paying joy)
- Movie: “Pay the Ghost” (2015) - Because what could be scarier than unremitted dues?
### Who originally said, “Always those that dance must pay the musicke”?
- [ ] William Shakespeare
- [x] John Taylor
- [ ] Chaucer
- [ ] Aesop
> **Explanation:** John Taylor coined this term in “Taylor’s Feast,” dated 1638.
### What does “pay the piper” imply?
- [ ] Pay your parking tickets
- [x] Bear the cost of something indulgent or necessary
- [ ] Pay a musician to untangle a bagpipe
- [ ] Avoid spending money
> **Explanation:** “Pay the piper” means to handle the consequences or bear the cost for an action or indulgence.
### Who wrote "Major Barbara" where the phrase “pay the piper and call the tune” appeared?
- [ ] Charles Dickens
- [x] George Bernard Shaw
- [ ] Jane Austen
- [ ] Mark Twain
> **Explanation:** George Bernard Shaw wrote "Major Barbara," which includes that iconic financial command bravado.
Life’s dance floor isn’t always a ballroom, and sometimes you’ve got to be the one to pay the piper for the tunes you’ve danced to. As Winston Churchill once quipped, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” So march on, pay your pipers, and call those tunes—let laughter and learning share the same ledger.
Fair well, dear word lover!
Penny D. Wryt
