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Re: It serves you right

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on May 05, 2006

In Reply to: It serves you right posted by Rach on May 04, 2006

: Can anyone tell me where the saying 'it serves you right' originates? us know where it comes from.

One of the meanings of "serve" is "to treat in specified [but usually unpleasant] manner". Thus "it serves you right" means "you have got what you deserved". It's an old idiom; it wasn't coined by anyone famous.