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Face The Consequences

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To accept responsibility for and endure the results of one’s choices, especially when those results are difficult, unpleasant, or unavoidable.

Detailed Definition
This phrase places responsibility directly before the body, asking a person to stand before what has followed from a choice. In poetry, consequences may appear as unpaid debts, returning ghosts, changed landscapes, or a lover’s closed door. The expression gives moral conflict a dramatic posture, as though the speaker must meet the future without turning away.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poem about wrongdoing may say, “Now I must face the consequences of the door I chose”; The phrase means accepting the results of one’s actions; A poet could connect consequences with harvest, echo, or returning footsteps; Its direct language helps a speaker move from denial toward responsibility.
Additional Notes
To face the consequences means to accept what follows from one’s choices or behavior, whether the results are fair, difficult, or unpleasant. It often carries a moral sense of accountability. Related phrases include “reap what one sows” and “own one’s actions.”
Also Known As
Reap What One Sows Pay The Piper
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