It means you pay the price for what you gain. No free lunch.
Again, I heard this first from 'The Bank Job' when Terry the thief asked the MI5
agent Tim for help. Robbing the bank vault blind, the crooks unwittingly bagged
the dirty secrets of another gang and were hunted down. One of Terry's friend
was killed. Tim was unsympathetic:
The guts come with the glory, eh?
...
Listen, Terry.
Our committment is for...
the recovery of the
royal...portraits only.
The proceeds and the piss-offs
are both yours to deal with.
Good also to know the 'piss-off' here is countable.
