Word.ws English Dictionary

what's good for the goose is good for the gander

what's good for the goose is good for the gander proverb: 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 good for a man.

Proverb

what's good for the goose is good for the gander

  1. 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 good for a man.
  2. If something is good for one person, it should be equally good for another person; someone who treats another in a certain way should not complain if the same is done to them.

Origin of what's good for the goose is good for the gander

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).

Questions about what's good for the goose is good for the gander

What does what's good for the goose is good for the gander mean?
What's good for the goose is good for the gander means 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 good for a man.
What part of speech is what's good for the goose is good for the gander?
What's good for the goose is good for the gander is a proverb.

Words near what's good for the goose is good for the gander in the dictionary

  1. what's done is done
  2. what's eating
  3. what's eating you
  4. what's going on
  5. what's good
  6. what's good for the goose is good for the gander
  7. what's gwan
  8. what's happening
  9. what's in a name
  10. what's in it for me
  11. what's in the bag

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: what's good for the goose is good for the gander (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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