meaning of phrase

[skammerling7]

what does this mean: What is good for the goose is not good for the gander.

[sft42]

You've got a not in the wrong place...The orifinal saying goes "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander" meaning if it is good enough for the male then it must be good enough for the female.

[Quizmonster]

I think Sft's a bit sexually confused! The gander is the male. Mind you, he's right in the sense that the saying is usually applied the other way around...ie the suggestion is that - if the guy can 'play the field' - so can the gal! (All in fun, S! Cheers.)

[geofbob]

I don't think one should interpret this saying simply in terms of sexual politics. In fact, both goose and gander are correct terms for a male goose. The proverb can apply to any two people or things which have a close relationship, where one of them seems to be doing something to the other, which could be reciprocated. For example, you could currently apply the proverb to IIDS - he challanged John Major's authority when the latter was PM; so it's only sauce for the gander if his authority is being challanged now.

[Jenny Tools]

I think its more a case of "just desserts" rather than a sauce !

[Quizmonster]

Perhaps so, Geof, but the proverb wouldn't have quite the same ring to it if it read: "What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the goose" would it?

That reminds me of seeing someone on TV singing that old song that includes the line: "I say tomato and you say tomato", only she pronounced the word in exactly the same way each time! In other words, the whole British English/American English pronunciation-difference was lost.

Personally, I have never heard the goose/gander saying used in any situation other than a gender-difference one. It has always involved male/female and never just 'two people' in my experience.

[FredPuli]

Sex doesn't come into it in the sense of sexual activity. The saying is 'what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander' ; in other words you should treat two things or two people the same if the circumstances are the same and should not make distinctions with irrelevant details. In the saying there is no difference in flavour between cooked male or cooked female bird so the sauce should be the same for each; the sex is irrelevant. It is usually used as an answer to someone who complains that they merit different treatment from another for some spurious reason .