chickens come home to roost
Meaning
Past wrongdoings or mistakes will eventually return to negatively affect the person who committed them.
Origin
The vivid image behind this phrase dates back to medieval England, drawing directly from the simple, undeniable behavior of farm animals. Every evening, without fail, chickens return to their coop or 'roost' for the night. This natural habit offered a powerful metaphor: just as chickens inevitably return to their starting point, so too do the consequences of one's actions, especially one's wrongdoings, inevitably return to affect the perpetrator. The phrase found its first notable literary home in the 14th century, famously penned by Geoffrey Chaucer in his 'Canterbury Tales,' cementing its place in the English language as a timeless warning that what goes around, truly does come around.
Examples
- After years of neglecting environmental regulations, the company finally faced massive fines and public backlash; truly, the chickens had come home to roost.
- He thought he could get away with cheating on his taxes forever, but when the IRS audit arrived, he realized the chickens had come home to roost.