paid one's dues

pay (one's) dues

1. Literally, to pay the requisite fees to enter into or remain in an organization. If you don't pay your dues every month, they will rescind your membership without warning.

2. By extension, to work hard, gain the necessary skills or experience, or suffer hardships (in order to earn a position, set of rights, the respect of others, etc.). I paid my dues working in the warehouse for 10 years before I got this job in the head office.

3. To serve the sentence given to one upon conviction of a crime. He paid his dues in the eyes of the law, so he shouldn't be facing any further punishment for his past crimes. A: "We can't re-hire you—you're a criminal!" B: "Hey, I spent nearly 15 years in prison. I've paid my dues!"

paid one's dues

Fulfilled one’s obligations; acquired experience the hard way. This mid-twentieth-century bit of American slang was adopted by jazz musicians, although it did not originate with them. It transfers the cost of being a paid-up member to the cost of gaining expertise in some field. Nat Hentoff defined the term in Jazz Life (1962): “‘Paying dues’ is the jazz musician’s term for the years of learning and searching for an individual sound and style while the pay is small and irregular.” However, the expression was already in print in a nonmusical context by 1943.

词组	paid one's dues
释义	paid one's dues pay (one's) dues 1. Literally, to pay the requisite fees to enter into or remain in an organization. If you don't pay your dues every month, they will rescind your membership without warning. 2. By extension, to work hard, gain the necessary skills or experience, or suffer hardships (in order to earn a position, set of rights, the respect of others, etc.). I paid my dues working in the warehouse for 10 years before I got this job in the head office. 3. To serve the sentence given to one upon conviction of a crime. He paid his dues in the eyes of the law, so he shouldn't be facing any further punishment for his past crimes. A: "We can't re-hire you—you're a criminal!" B: "Hey, I spent nearly 15 years in prison. I've paid my dues!" See also: due, pay Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. paid one's dues Fulfilled one’s obligations; acquired experience the hard way. This mid-twentieth-century bit of American slang was adopted by jazz musicians, although it did not originate with them. It transfers the cost of being a paid-up member to the cost of gaining expertise in some field. Nat Hentoff defined the term in Jazz Life (1962): “‘Paying dues’ is the jazz musician’s term for the years of learning and searching for an individual sound and style while the pay is small and irregular.” However, the expression was already in print in a nonmusical context by 1943. See also: due, paid The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer See also: pay dues pay one’s dues pay one's dues pay (one's) dues pay the penalty for (something) pay the freight pay-for-play put (one) to great expense pay by pay out of pocket References in periodicals archive To some degree, having earned sufficient idiosyncrasy credits is somewhat similar to having "paid one's dues," since dues-paying gives a person the right to justify an award when it is received. Dues-paying: managing the costs of recognition
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