taste of your own medicine
Meaning
To be treated the same unpleasant way you have treated others; to suffer consequences similar to what you caused.
Origin
From the idea of being forced to take medicine you prepared for someone else—i.e., receiving the same remedy/punishment you administered. Recorded in English from the 1800s and linked to older notions of “poetic justice.”
Notes
Often implies poetic justice and can sound smug or scolding. Used in everyday speech when someone gets the same bad treatment they dished out.
Examples
-
After years of mocking others, he finally got a taste of his own medicine when his coworkers laughed at his mistake.
-
She gave him a taste of his own medicine by ignoring his messages for a week.
-
The company got a taste of its own medicine when a competitor undercut its prices.
-
When the bully was excluded from the game, he got a taste of his own medicine.
-
If you keep spreading rumors, don’t be surprised when you get a taste of your own medicine.
Grammar & Usage Notes
Usually appears as “get a taste of your own medicine” or “give someone a taste of their own medicine.” Possessive changes (your/his/their) to match the person; “medicine” is typically singular.
Synonyms
- poetic justice
- get a dose of one’s own medicine
- comeuppance
Antonyms
- be let off the hook
- get away with it