piper (redirected from Piper, John)

He who pays the piper calls the tune.

Prov. If you are paying for someone's services, you can dictate exactly what you want that person to do. When Mrs. Dalton told the artist what she wanted her portrait to look like, the artist cringed to think that anyone could have such bad taste. Still, he who pays the piper calls the tune, and Mrs. Dalton got what she wanted.

See also: call, pay, tune, who

pay the piper

Fig. to face the results of one's actions; to receive punishment for something. You can put off paying your debts only so long. Eventually you'll have to pay the piper. You can't get away with that forever. You'll have to pay the piper someday.

See also: pay

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He who pays the piper calls the tune.

something that you say which means that the person who provides the money for something can decide how it should be done You may not agree with Mr Brown but he funded this venture, and he who pays the piper calls the tune.

See also: call, pay, tune, who

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pay the piper

to accept the unpleasant results of something you have done pay the price After fooling around for most of the semester, now he has to pay the piper and study over vacation. If you don't charge enough for your work, at some point you will have to pay the piper.

See also: pay