The popular expression "revenge is a dish best served cold" suggests that revenge is more satisfying if enacted when unexpected or long feared, inverting traditional civilized revulsion toward "cold-blooded" violence. Show
Simplified, it means that it's best to take revenge on someone when they least expect it, and especially when some time has passed from the event that caused the person to seek revenge (i.e., the proverbial dish got cold). The coolness of the dish might also suggest that the person plotting an act of revenge is doing so in a cool and calculated manner. Although the idea must be as old as people, the origin of the phrase/metaphor isn't known for sure. You can learn more about it by reading the rest of the linked section of that Wikipedia article. By the way, I wouldn't concern myself with how exactly they phrased it – i.e., who served the dish to whom – you have to take into consideration the fact that this is a scripted show and the writers probably decided that was the best way to deliver the joke. That said, I believe the intended meaning of the original saying is that the person exacting revenge on the other is the one eating (being served) the dish. However, an extended debate would be of little value as different people understand the proverb differently nowadays.
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Embed Code© 2020 Whisper. All Rights Reserved. Get Our App! Get the App Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Please ensure you provide the correct address at checkout as packages lost in the mail are not always returned to me. One is able to voice harsh thoughts, criticisms, or insults toward others, but does not like being the recipient of such treatment. You were all over your sister about her eating habits, but you start pouting when I point out that you had a cupcake for dinner last night! What, you can dish it out, but you can't take it? She's always so quick to mock you when you make a mistake, but she throws a total hissy fit when you call her out on something she's done wrong. She can dish it out, but she clearly can't take it. I'm not surprised the bully backed down when you confronted him. Bullies usually can dish it out, but they can't take it. Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved. What does don't dish what you can't take mean?someone easily criticizes other people but does not like it when other people criticize him or her: He's mad at me for teasing him – he can dish it out, but he can't take it!
Can't dish what you serve?The saying “Don't dish it out if you can't take it” means ones of three things: To literally serve food. In terms of cooking, cooks were advised not to serve (dish out) any entrees that they were unwilling to eat. To distribute something, like advice, information, money, news, etc.
What is the saying don't dish out?idiom. : to criticize other people. He can dish it out, but he can't take it when others do the same to him.
What does it mean when you dish on something?dish on (someone or something)
slang To gossip about someone or something. Those popular girls are always dishing on someone in our class.
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