Meanings
alternative come home to roost · alternative curses, like chickens, come home to roost
- idiomaticA person's past wrongdoings will return to negatively affect them.
Opponents see the latest indictments as a case of the chickens coming home to roost.
4 more examples
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.’
Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they've always made me glad.
1963, Malcolm X, speech, December 1, 1963I suppose you could blame it on my generation, chickens from the 60s finally coming into roost.
1995, Loudon Wainwright III, CobwebsMalcolm X ain't never lie; Chickens do come home to roost! And you would think that a senator from Kentucky would know that better than anyone.
2020 March 22, Brooklyn Baldwin, “Rand Paul, Staunch Opponent of Coronavirus Healthcare Package, Diagnosed with Coronavirus”, in The Root
Synonyms & antonyms
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.”
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 害人害己, 咎由自取
- 害人害己 (hàirénhàijǐ)a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
- 咎由自取 (jiùyóuzìqǔ)a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
- 惡有惡報 /恶有恶报 (èyǒu'èbào)a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Finnish minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytää, niin makaat kuin petaat
- minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytääa person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
- niin makaat kuin petaata person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Italian tutti i nodi vengono al pettine
- tutti i nodi vengono al pettinea person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Japanese 人を呪わば穴二つ
- 人を呪わば穴二つ (hito wo norowaba ana futatsu)a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Polish cierp ciało, skoroś chciało
- cierp ciało, skoroś chciałoa person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Romanian Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul
- Dumnezeu nu bate cu parula person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Russian не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь, как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется
- не рой я́му друго́му, сам в неё попадёшь (ne roj jámu drugómu, sam v nejó popadjóšʹ)a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
- как ау́кнется, так и откли́кнется (kak aúknetsja, tak i otklíknetsja)a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Spanish la cabra siempre tira al monte, de aquellos polvos, estos lodos
- la cabra siempre tira al montea person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
- de aquellos polvos, estos lodosa person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
Cite this entry
the chickens come home to roost. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost
“the chickens come home to roost.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the chickens come home to roost,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20chickens%20come%20home%20to%20roost.
Source: the chickens come home to roost on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.