Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

After dinner comes the reckoning

English answer:

You may enjoy yourself, but there is always a price attached

Added to glossary by Veronika McLaren
Jul 24, 2010 17:15
13 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term
Change log

Jul 26, 2010 18:51: Veronika McLaren Created KOG entry

Discussion

Stephanie Ezrol Jul 24, 2010:
there seem to be many Russian websites discussing this phrase, and at least one of them refers to it as a line from Gone With the Wind. Is your question related to that discussion?
Judith Hehir (asker) Jul 24, 2010:
PS. In English No translation necessary.
Judith Hehir (asker) Jul 24, 2010:
Thanks for asking, Tony. Just looking for the most common, i.e., correct (?) interpretation of the saying.
Tony M Jul 24, 2010:
What exactly do you want to know, Judith? Or are you looking for a translation into some other language?

Responses

21 hrs
Selected

You may enjoy yourself, but there is always a price attached

A slightly broader interpretation
Note from asker:
Thank you, Veronika.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Veronika. Yes, I was looking for a broader interpretation."
+1
1 hr

no such thing as a free meal

The dinner may be good but it comes, perhaps, at a price
Note from asker:
Thank you.
Peer comment(s):

agree Stephanie Ezrol : This does seem to be sense of it, as in Reckoning with a capital R
3 mins
Thank you, S. Sad perhaps
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51 mins

First you eat, then you get the bill

Eat first, then pay.

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Note added at 53 mins (2010-07-24 18:08:56 GMT)
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http://sayings.ru/eproverb/18.html

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Note added at 16 hrs (2010-07-25 09:32:22 GMT)
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These are from the link above. They all seem to be another way of saying the same thing as the phrase you ask about:
"One cannot have pleasure either without working hard for it or without paying a lot after-wards.
If you dance you must pay the fiddler.
He that would have eggs must endure the cackling of hens.
He that would eat (or have) the fruit, must climb the tree.
No pains, no gains. [sic]
Love me, love my dog.
After dinner comes the reckoning.
You called the tune, now you must pay the piper.
You've made your bed and now you must lie on it.
He who likes skiing downhill must enjoy climbing uphill."
Note from asker:
Thank you, Suzan.
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Reference comments

1 day 3 hrs
Reference:

"I went to another room to pay the reckoning, liberated King John from his second confinment, shook hands with my guests- and returned to my lodgings by no means out of humour or out of heart with the day's entertainment." The Gentleman's Magazine vol. 130
http://books.google.es/books?id=I_4RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA52&lpg=PA5... "To reckon" is an old verb for "summing up". Depending upon the situation, the "reckoning" can be another sort of settling accounts. More context is needed to know if it is being used in a straightforward or satiric manner.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Jenni. No context in this case. The saying stands on its own. Thank you.
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