Meanings
- If something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another (often of the opposite gender).
That that's good sauce for a goose, is good for a gander.
[1678, John Ray, Collection of English Proverbs, 2nd edition, Cambridge, page 483 more examples
[…] sawce which is good for the Goose, I hope will be good for the Gander […]
[1674, Richard Head, The English Rogue, Part 3, page 4[I]t is, as I may ſo ſay, a ſavvcy Plot: and vve all knovv, moſt Reverend Fathers, that vvhat is ſavvce for a Gooſe is ſavvce for a Gander: Therefore, I ſay, as thoſe bloud-thirſty Ganders of the conſpiracy vvould have deſtroyed us Geeſe of the Senate, let us make haſte to deſtroy them, ſo I humbly move for hanging— […]
1682, Thomas Otway, Venice Preserv’d, or, A Plot Discover’d. A Tragedy. […], London: […] Jos[eph] Hindmarsh […], →OCLC, Act V, scene [ii], page 61What is sauce for the gander is sauce for the goose and the arguments that he produces against my suggestion apply with double force to his.
1945, Herbert Walter Fairman, “An Introduction to the Study of Ptolemaic Signs and Their Values”, in Le Bulletin de l’Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, volume 43, page 80 - One who treats others in a certain way should not complain about receiving the same treatment.
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
1670s, figuratively using goose/gander for women and men, and literally meaning that the same sauce applies equally well to cooked goose, regardless of sex. Early forms include “as deep drinketh the goose as the gander” (1562) and similar “As well for the coowe calfe as for the bull” (1549). The expression appears in Dickens when a spy attempting to evade culpability insists, “For you cannot sarse the goose and not the gander.”
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch gelijke monniken, gelijke kappen
- gelijke monniken, gelijke kappenif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Esperanto saŭco por la anserino ankaŭ estas saŭco por la viransero
- saŭco por la anserino ankaŭ estas saŭco por la viranseroif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Finnish ei köyhänkään suu tuohesta ole
- ei köyhänkään suu tuohesta oleif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
French sauce bonne pour l'oie est bonne pour le jars
- sauce bonne pour l'oie est bonne pour le jarsif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
German was dem einen recht ist, ist dem anderen billig
- was dem einen recht ist, ist dem anderen billigif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Hungarian ami jó az egyiknek, jó a másiknak is, ami nekem jó, legyen neked is jó
- ami jó az egyiknek, jó a másiknak isif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
- ami nekem jó, legyen neked is jóif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
- ami az egyiknek szabad, szabad a másiknak is (legyen)one who treats others in a certain way should not complain about receiving the same treatment
Italian quel che vale per l’uno vale anche per l’altro
- quel che vale per l’uno vale anche per l’altroif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Portuguese pau que dá em Chico, dá em Francisco
- pau que dá em Chico, dá em Franciscoif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Spanish lo que es bueno para el pavo, es bueno para la pava
- lo que es bueno para el pavo, es bueno para la pavaif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Turkish aynı tas aynı hamam
- aynı tas aynı hamamif something is acceptable for one person, it is acceptable for another
Cite this entry
what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what's%20sauce%20for%20the%20goose%20is%20sauce%20for%20the%20gander
“what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what's%20sauce%20for%20the%20goose%20is%20sauce%20for%20the%20gander. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/what's%20sauce%20for%20the%20goose%20is%20sauce%20for%20the%20gander.
Source: what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.