# What is the origin of "Take what you want a pay for it"?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 21, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317 "2010-05-21T23:55:57Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317/1 "2010-05-21T23:55:57Z")

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It’s in my head from an unknown source, and some quick googling shows several sources and alternations.

Anyone know it?

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317/2 "2010-05-22T04:36:31Z")

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I first saw the phrase in [Hercule Poirot’s Christmas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot's_Christmas), by Agatha Christie, first published in 1938. One of the characters quotes it as a Spanish proverb: “Take what you want and pay for it, says God.” Dunno if Christie just made it up for the story, or if it is a real proverb, Spanish or otherwise.

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**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317/3 "2010-05-22T11:05:24Z")

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> [@Northern\_Piper](#):
>
> I first saw the phrase in [Hercule Poirot’s Christmas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercule_Poirot's_Christmas), by Agatha Christie, first published in 1938. One of the characters quotes it as a Spanish proverb: “Take what you want and pay for it, says God.” Dunno if Christie just made it up for the story, or if it is a real proverb, Spanish or otherwise.

It’s rare to find something that Google doesn’t know - most say it is Spanish, another says Arabic.

I remembered where I heard it first - the Wheel of Time.

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**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\
**Post date:** [May 22, 2010, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317/4 "2010-05-22T14:29:21Z")

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Ayn Rand used that expression, in the context of responsibility and obligation. She attributed it to an “old Spanish proverb.”

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**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-origin-of-take-what-you-want-a-pay-for-it/540317/5 "2010-05-23T10:57:04Z")

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In 1920, it was presented as a Persian proverb [here](http://books.google.com/books?id=lgWmAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA5-PA26&dq=%22take+what+you+*+and+pay+for+it%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=1938&as_brr=0&client=firefox-a&cd=11#v=onepage&q=%22pay%20for%20it%22&f=false).