the chickens come home to roost

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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.”

12 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Chinese Mandarin: 害人害己 (hàirénhàijǐ) — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Finnish: minkä taakseen jättää, sen edestään löytää — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Finnish: niin makaat kuin petaat — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Italian: tutti i nodi vengono al pettine — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Japanese: 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 — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Romanian: Dumnezeu nu bate cu parul — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Russian: 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)
• Russian: 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 — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Spanish: de aquellos polvos, estos lodos — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)
• Uzbek: Qilgan koʻradi ekkan oʻradi (Qilgan koʻradi ekkan oʻradi) — a person's past wrongdoings will always return to negatively affect them (idiom)