Fig: mistakes, lies, evil words or actions will come back and will haunt the doer

Be careful what you say. Don't go around saying that you are the big boss' right-hand man and you can have him do anything. Sooner or later chickens come home to roost and you'll have to deal with it

Fai attenzione a quello che dici. Non andare in giro a dire che sei il braccio destro del grande capo e che puoi fargli fare qualsiasi cosa. Presto o tardi tutti i nodi vengono al pettine e dovrai renderne conto

My former partner, who thought he was smart, evaded taxes for years. Now his chickens have come home to roost: after opening a tax evasion investigation, the IRS has ordered him to pay $3 million

Il mio ex socio, che pensava di essere furbo, ha eluso le tasse per anni. Ora, però, i nodi sono venuti al pettine: è stato indagato per evasion fiscale e condannato a pagare 3 milioni di Euro al fisco

This is a short, more popular version of "Curses are like young chickens; they always come home to roost" written in 1810 by the English poet Robert Southey. In this expression, the chickens are rude, false words or evil acts that come back and cause trouble