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Reader question: In this headline – Time for Facebook addicts to face the music (Times Online, UK, July 1, 2008) – why "face the music"? Is it a common expression?

My comments: First I checked the story up. In a gist, it says: "Facebook defines itself as 'a social utility that connects you with the people around you'. This could not be further from the truth. Far from serving as an umbilical cord of friendship for the socially deprived, Facebook actively damages interpersonal relationships, harms job prospects, wastes time, and ultimately turns die-hard users totally reclusive. It leads your girlfriend to ask questions about your photos, your friends to ask questions about your girlfriend, and her friends to ask her questions about your friends. You don't need this headache, nobody does. Facebook complicates our lives."

In other words, Facebook has its drawbacks and pitfalls, according to the author, and those who use it must beware or face up to the consequences.

Why "face the music"? One listens to music, naturally. When one faces the music, it's odd – therefore, there's probably some unpleasant prospect to face (or hear). Anyways, "face the music" is an idiom, meaning one has to face the consequences of one's actions and live with them, however unpleasant the situation may be.

In searching for its origin I found that there are many different theories, some more plausible than others. Some Americans claim that it's an American expression borne out of the American army. That may very well be the case but somehow, hearing Americans claiming English expressions to be theirs feels like hearing a Japanese saying Zen is Japanese or a Korean saying Confucius is Korean. To be sure, the Japanese popularized Zen as the world knows it today and it sometimes does feel as though Koreans hold ancient cultural traditions of China in greater reverence than the Chinese themselves do. But, to claim Zen and Confucius theirs outright always sounds a little jarring to the ear – the Chinese ear at any rate.

Anyways, of the many theories regarding the origin of "face the music", I find this one most plausible. It's The Hindu (Indian newspaper) theory (August 30, 2004): "According to some scholars, it comes from a practice that was common in the British military. When an officer was court-martialed, the charges against him were read out for all to hear. The man was made to stand in front of the military band and while the charges were being read out, drummers used to tap their drums. Since the prisoner was facing the band and the drums were being played, he was literally ‘facing the music'. This practice of tapping the drums while the charges were read out gave rise to another expression as well – 'drummed up charges'."

Drummed up charges, by the way, means exaggerated or invented accusations of crime.

Finally, is "face the music" a common expression?

Yes it is, and very much so, as demonstrated by these headlines in the past months:

1. John Cuthbert: Water chief must face the music on prices as costs rise (The Independent, 21 June 2008).

2. Dr. Death decides to face the music in Australia (News-Medical.Net, June 26, 2008).

3.Croatia coach Bilic forced to face the music (Bangkok Post, June 22, 2008).

4. Copyright tough guys, Tories face the music for using song (Canada.com, February 22, 2008).

5. South Korea should face the music for funding terrorists (LA Daily News, September 11, 2007).

6. Indicted Opera Patron to Face the Music in September (ABC News, June 17, 2008).

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.