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]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Liana	-	Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, English
Dimitrije	-	Serbian
Frideswide	-	History
Sans	-	Medieval Spanish
'Aamir	-	Arabic
Jadvyga	-	Lithuanian