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
Nigella	-	English (Rare)
Franka (1)	-	German, Dutch
Morana	-	Slavic Mythology, Croatian
Dante	['dænti]
Harkaitz	-	Basque
Annelies	ah-ne-LEES (German), ahn-nə-LEES (Dutch)	German, Dutch