pay debt

pay one's debt (to society)

Cliché to serve a sentence for a crime, usually in prison. The judge said that Mr. Simpson had to pay his debt to society. Mr. Brown paid his debt in state prison.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Carnes	[ka:nz]
Juha	YOO-hah	Finnish
Adkins	['ædkinz]
Daniil	dah-nee-EEL	Russian
Ayako	ah-yah-ko	Japanese
Dagr	-	Ancient Scandinavian