to pay one's dues
- phrasal verb
:
ganarse el respeto
- After years of hard work and dedication, she finally feels like she has paid her dues in the industry.
Examples
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He has more than paid his dues.
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No one pays their dues anymore.
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Some of these girls have paid their dues.
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The time has come for you to pay your dues.
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You have to pay your dues.
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I was paying my dues.
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Everybody else was paying their dues, and it was time I went home and paid mine.
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You know, learn your craft, pay your dues.
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You've been paying your dues a long time, Cheyann.
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Turning his back on his former profession, Malkovich had to start from scratch and pay his dues all over again as a fledgling puppeteer.
Synonyms
947
1.0
To get respect from others because you behave well
35
4.9
To become successful and have a better life by working hard
1
6.0
Do hard work and make sacrifices before you succeed
1
5.4
To gain a respected place in a group by working hard
Antonyms
How Earned
Surface Forms
Morphology
The parts 'pay' (give), 'one's' (possessive) and 'dues' (things owed or required payments) yield a clear literal image of paying what is owed, but the MWE extends this to a metaphorical sense of earning respect or position through effort. This figurative shift is predictable enough that learners may guess a related sense, yet the specific pragmatic meaning (‘earn standing through long-term effort’) is not fully derivable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Pay one's dues comes from old clubs and trade groups where people had to pay regular fees called dues or do extra work to become full members. So, today to 'pay one's dues' means to spend time and hard work to 'earn respect' or 'a position'.