the chickens come home to roost
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the chickens come home to roost
Where it comes from
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.”
proverb come home to roost · curses, like chickens, come home to roost
- A person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them. 1846, Lydia Maria Child, The Mother's Book, C.S. Francis & Co. (6th ed., 1st ed. from 1844), page 98. Never were truer words than the Spanish proverb, ‘All lies, like chickens, come home to roost.’
Translations
Every language
proverb a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
| Español | la cabra siempre tira al monte, de aquellos polvos, estos lodos |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 人を呪わば穴二つ hito wo norowaba ana futatsu |
| 中文 | 害人害己 hàirénhàijǐ, 咎由自取 jiùyóuzìqǔ, 惡有惡報 /恶有恶报 èyǒu'èbào |
| Italiano | tutti i nodi vengono al pettine |
| Română | Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul |
| Русский | не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь ne roj jámu drugómu, sam v nejó popadjóšʹ, как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется kak aúknetsja, tak i otklíknetsja |
Talk about this word "the chickens come home to roost." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026. the chickens come home to roost. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost "the chickens come home to roost." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost.Cite this
@misc{the_chickens_come_home_to_roost_2026,
title = {the chickens come home to roost},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost},
urldate = {2026-11-07}
}
