dish out
dish it out
To voice harsh thoughts, criticisms, or insults. You were all over your sister about her eating habits, but you start pouting when I point out that you had a cupcake for dinner last night! What, you can only dish it out?
See also: dish, out
dish out
1. To distribute prepared food, especially using a utensil to serve it onto or into individual dishes. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dish" and "out." We should get back to our table—the servers have started dishing out the food.
2. By extension, to dispense something, often verbally. A noun or pronoun can be used between "dish" and "out." Ross is better at dishing out criticism than receiving it himself. That professor is a much harder grader this semester—he must have gotten in trouble for dishing out too many A's.
See also: dish, out
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
dish something out
1. Lit. to serve up food to people. I'll dish it out, and you take it to the table. Careful how you dish out the mashed potatoes. There may not be enough.
2. Fig. to distribute information, news, etc. The press secretaries were dishing reports out as fast as they could write them. The company dishes out propaganda on a regular basis.
3. Fig. to give out trouble, scoldings, criticism, etc. The boss was dishing criticism out this morning, and I really got it. The teacher dished out a scolding to each one who was involved in the prank.
See also: dish, out
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
dish out
1. Deal out, dispense, as in He dishes out advice to one and all. This expression alludes to serving food from a dish. ] Colloquial; first half of 1600s]
2. dish it out. Dispense abuse or punishment, as in He can dish it out with the best of them, but he can't take it. [Slang; c. 1930]
See also: dish, out
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
dish out
v.
1. To distribute some food from a container: The hosts dished out lots of steaming vegetables to the dinner guests. Could you dish the soup out while I pour the drinks?
2. To distribute something: The company dished out some $10 million in bribes. We made copies of our performance and dished them out to our friends.
See also: dish, out
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
dish something out
1. tv. to serve up food to people. (Standard English.) I’ll dish it out, and you take it to the table.
2. tv. to distribute information, news, etc. The press secretaries were dishing reports out as fast as they could write them.
3. tv. to give out trouble, scoldings, criticism, etc. The boss was dishing criticism out this morning, and I really got it.
See also: dish, out, something
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
dish it out
Slang To deal out criticism or abuse.
See also: dish, out
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
- dish it out
- you can dish it out, but you can't take it
- if you can't take it, (then) don't dish it out
- throw stones
- eat dirt
- slings and arrows
- the slings and arrows
- have an effect on
- have an/any/no effect on (someone or something)
- gluttony kills more than the sword