what's good for the goose is good for the gander
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From earlier what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander (1670s). Other early forms include “as deep drinketh the goose as the gander” (1562).[1][2]
Proverb[edit]
what's good for the goose is good for the gander
- Literally, what is good for a female goose is equally good for a male goose (gander); or, what is good for a woman should be equally as good for a man.
- If something is good for one person, it should be equally as good for another person; someone who treats another in a certain way should not complain if the same is done to them.
References[edit]
- ^ John Heywood, The Proverbs, Epigrams, and Miscellanies of John Heywood, 1562, p. 82
- ^ John Lyly, Euphues and his England, 1579/1580, “as deepe drinketh the Goose as the Gander”, note on p. 377