dish something 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. 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
- stir up
- scoop up
- interpret for
- interpret for (someone)
- (Is) this taken?
- mark down
- angle
- angling
- not do (someone or oneself) any favors
- involve with