proverb · Words worth keeping
Curses, like chickens come home to roost.
Curses, like chickens come home to roost.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying compares curses with chickens returning to roost. It imagines hostile words or wishes coming back to affect their source.
What the words are saying
Home links the origin with an eventual return, making consequences feel reciprocal. A qualified application can consider how hostility affects an ongoing relationship. The phrase does not verify supernatural effects, inevitable punishment or the circumstances of someone’s misfortune.
Everyday example
Someone considers how an angry accusation may affect a relationship before repeating it.
When to use it
Use it as an analogy about the possible return of hostile conduct.
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What it does not mean
No supernatural return, inevitable consequence or deserved misfortune is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 262; PDF page 41
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.