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Face the music

Posted by J .Ward on October 30, 2002

The definition given for this phrase is not the one I know...

As far as I know the full phrase is "face the music and dance" and I have heard this derived as a military execution, with the regiment drawn up in hollow square around the gallows and the condemmed man is hanged facing the side of the square the band was positioned at ("a band" was short for a "band of music") so that he "danced on air" facing the band.

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