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face the music

To accept or confront the unpleasant consequences of one's actions.

Etymology:

  • Origin unclear. It may be from either the theater or the military. Either facing literal music: as the performers on the stage are facing the music from the orchestra pit when confronting a possibly hostile audience; or a soldier is facing the military band at a dressing-down ceremony; or the music is by grim humor a euphemism for the noise of battle.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'face the music':

Face the MusicTo confront the consequences of ones decisions and actions, or to accept the responsibility of one’s actions
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tváří v tvář hudbě

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to face the music

fly in the face ofget out of my faceface to faceguilt was etched deeply into his/her fa…face offfeed one's facebutter faceface that would stop a clockCut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Facehave egg on one's faceface offgive faceEgg on Your Faceclose the face

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    "face the music." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/face-the-music_3503>.

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