just deserts

Idioms  

1. A deserved punishment or reward, as in He got his just deserts when Mary jilted him. This idiom employs desert in the sense of “what one deserves,” a usage dating from the 1300s but obsolete except in this expression.

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Example Sentences

Kakkar has a later over-the-top turn as the elderly Alexander Iden, who gives Cade his just deserts despite her character’s conspicuous frailty.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2024

"It is satisfying when someone so up themselves gets their just deserts."

From Salon • Jul. 6, 2023

“Belief in just deserts was negatively associated with risk perception and positively associated with human rights restrictions,” the study reads.

From Washington Times • Dec. 20, 2022

There will be England fans who feel it is an overdue serving of just deserts.

From BBC • Nov. 19, 2021

Theology has changed, over the years: just deserts used to be what everyone could expect to get, in the end.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood