Dictionary Home » The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms » sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, what's

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

sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, what's idiom

What applies to one applies to both, especially to both male and female. For example, After her husband went off with his fishing buddies for a week, she decided to take a vacation without him—what's sauce for the goose, you know. This proverbial expression, often shortened as in the example, was cited and described as “a woman's proverb” in John Ray's English Proverbs (1678).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.