He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune
A piper plays a pipe, especially the bagpipes. Two famous sayings and one dark legend cluster around the word.
A piper is someone who plays a pipe, most often the bagpipes. Two proverbs hang on the word and they mean opposite things: *he who pays the piper calls the tune* says whoever funds something decides what it does, while *pay the piper* means to face the cost of your own pleasure. The second comes from the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who took the town's children when the town refused to pay him. *Pied* in that name means parti-coloured, from the magpie.
- One who plays a pipe. *A lone piper.*
- Pipes — the bagpipes. *The pipes played.*
- Pied Piper — the legend. *The Pied Piper.*
- Pay the piper — face the cost. *Pay the piper.*
- Pipe — the instrument. *A tin pipe.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | piper | A piper. |
| Plural | pipers | Pipers. |
| Base | pipe | A pipe. |
| Verb | pipe | Pipe a tune. |
| Compound | bagpiper | A bagpiper. |
- A lone piper played at the graveside.Scene.
- He who pays the piper calls the tune.Proverb.
- Pied means parti-coloured.The legend.
The Pied Piper story
- Hamelin in Lower Saxony is plagued by rats
- A piper in parti-coloured clothes offers to remove them for a fee
- He lures the rats away with his music, and the town refuses to pay
- He returns and leads the children away the same way
- A town record from 1384 notes it is a hundred years since the children left
From *pipe*, Old English *pipe*, from Latin *pipare*, to chirp, an imitative word.
What does pay the piper mean?
To bear the cost of your own enjoyment, from the Hamelin legend where refusing to pay had a terrible price.
What does pied mean?
Parti-coloured, from the magpie's black and white plumage. The piper wore patched, many-coloured clothes.