come home to roost

English

Alternative forms

• the chickens come home to roost

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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Verb

come home to roost (third-person singular simple present comes home to roost, present participle coming home to roost, simple past came home to roost, past participle come home to roost)

1. (idiomatic) To have negative consequences (of an action in the past).
   • 2005 February 25, Paul Blustein, “Foreign Investment^s Flip Side; U.S. Trade Deficit Swells Along With Consumption, Debt”, in Washington Post:

     At some point, he warned, sentiment among foreign investors could turn against America's deteriorating fundamentals, triggering a sharp sell-off in U.S. stocks and bonds that would threaten to throw the economy's expansion into reverse. "Will those risks ever come home to roost? One can't predict with great confidence," said Summers.

Translations

the chickens come home to roost — see the chickens come home to roost

See also

• come back to bite