sauce for the goose

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiomold-fashioned

   Part of a saying meaning that whatever rule or treatment applies to one person should apply equally to another.

   Grammar: Usually appears in full as what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

   Patterns

   • what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

   If he can leave early, so can she: what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

   You wanted me to follow the rule, so it is sauce for the goose, and you must follow it too.

   The teacher said homework is sauce for the goose, so she did it as well.

Common combinations

what's sauce for the goose

What's sauce for the goose should be sauce for the gander.

sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander

Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander: everyone pays.

the old saying sauce for the goose

She quoted the old saying sauce for the goose.

sauce for the gander

If it's sauce for the gander, it is sauce for the goose too.

Synonyms and how they differ

fair is fair

Fair is fair is a modern and shorter way to ask for equal treatment, with no animal imagery.

turnabout is fair play

Turnabout is fair play specifically says that you may do to others what they did to you.

equal treatment

Equal treatment is a plain noun phrase, whereas sauce for the goose is a proverb used for effect.

Opposites

Word family

gander noun

a male goose

goose noun

a large water bird, or a female of the species

sauce noun

a liquid served with food

Commonly confused: sauce for the goose or double standard?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “sauce for the goose”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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