pay one\'s dues

[doo, dyoo] Origin

due

[doo, dyoo]
adjective
1.
owed at present; having reached the date for payment: This bill is due.
2.
owing or owed, irrespective of whether the time of payment has arrived: This bill is due next month.
3.
owing or observed as a moral or natural right.
4.
rightful; proper; fitting: due care; in due time.
5.
adequate; sufficient: a due margin for delay.
EXPAND
6.
under engagement as to time; expected to be ready, be present, or arrive; scheduled: The plane is due at noon.
COLLAPSE
noun
7.
something that is due, owed, or naturally belongs to someone.
8.
Usually, dues. a regular fee or charge payable at specific intervals, especially to a group or organization: membership dues.

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Pay one's dues is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
adverb
9.
directly or exactly: a due east course.
10.
Obsolete. duly.
11.
due to,
a.
attributable to; ascribable to: The delay was due to heavy traffic.
b.
because of; owing to: All planes are grounded due to fog.
12.
give someone his/her due,
a.
to give what justice demands; treat fairly: Even though he had once cheated me, I tried to give him his due.
b.
to credit a disliked or dishonorable person for something that is likable, honorable, or the like.
13.
pay one's dues, to earn respect, a position, or a right by hard work, sacrifice, or experience: She's a famous musician now, but she paid her dues with years of practice and performing in small towns.

Origin:
1275–1325; Middle English < Anglo-French; Middle French deu, past participle of devoir < Latin dēbēre to owe; see debt

due·ness, noun

dew, do, due (see synonym note at do1; see usage note at the current entry).


11. Due to as a prepositional phrase meaning “because of, owing to” has been in use since the 14th century: Due to the sudden rainstorm, the picnic was moved indoors. Some object to this use on the grounds that due is historically an adjective and thus should be used only predicatively in constructions like The delay was due to electrical failure. EXPANDDespite such objections, due to occurs commonly as a compound preposition and is standard in all varieties of speech and writing

COLLAPSE

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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pay one's dues
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

due
mid-14c., from O.Fr. deu, pp. of devoir "to owe," from L. debere "to owe" (see debt). In reference to points of the compass (e.g. due east) it is attested from c.1600, originally nautical, from notion of "fitting, rightful."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

pay (one's) dues definition


  1. tv.
    to serve one's time in a menial role. (See also pay (one's) dues (to society).) : I spent some time as a bus boy, so I've paid my dues in the serving business.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

pay one's dues

Earn something through hard work, long experience, or suffering. For example, She'd paid her dues in small-town shows before she finally got a Broadway part. This expression transfers the cost of being a paid-up member in an organization to that of gaining experience in an endeavor. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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