# What does ‘face the music’ mean?

To “face the music” means to accept the unpleasant consequences of your actions. A 19th-century American idiom, said by some to derive from theatre (actors facing the orchestra pit) or military drumming-out ceremonies; Brewer's 1898 does not settle the origin.

## What it means

- A 19th-century American idiom, said by some to derive from theatre (actors facing the orchestra pit) or military drumming-out ceremonies; Brewer's 1898 does not settle the origin.

## Action steps

1. Used when someone must confront a reckoning.
2. Example: After lying to the board, he had to face the music.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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