What Does “Getting A Taste Of Your Own Medicine” Mean?

There are many different ways of saying things in the English language today. Some of these ways make your meaning clearer than others do.

When someone tells you that you’ll be “getting a taste of your own medicine” they’re telling you that they hope you’ll have the same unpleasant experience that you’re giving to someone else so that you can see how bad it is. This is an old phrase that comes to us from one of Aesop’s Fables.

Meaning of the Phrase

When you give someone “a taste of their own medicine” (a.k.a. “a dose of their own medicine) you’re essentially saying “tit for tat.” What this means is that when someone is really nasty or dishonest, or has taken advantage of you then you’re going to act in the same way for them. You’re going to give the person “a taste of their own medicine.”  Some may say that this has a lot to do with “karma.” In other words, if you hurt someone you should expect someone to eventually hurt you or give you “a taste of your own medicine” because it’s “poetic justice” (a fitting or deserved retribution for your actions).  This is based on the argument that it’s appropriate to give someone “a taste of their own medicine” when they know what they’re doing is wrong because they’ve been explicitly warned about it or they’re doing something that endangers other people. Of course, when you give them “a taste of their own medicine” you don’t want to hurt them although you may wish to inconvenience them in some way so that they don’t behave in this manner again.

Synonyms

Outside of using the word “karma” as a synonym for the phrase “a taste of your own medicine,” there are a few other words you may choose to use here, including:

• avenge
• even the score
• get back at
• get even
• payback
• retaliate

Synonymous Phrases

Unfortunately, some people confuse the phrase “a taste of your own medicine” with “laughter is the best medicine.” These phrases don’t mean the same thing since “laughter is the best medicine” means that it’s healthy for you to laugh sometimes. However, there is a similar phrase to “getting a taste of your own medicine” and that’s to “turn the tables.” This phrase means that you’ve changed a situation in such a way that you now have an advantage over someone who previously had an advantage over you.

Antonyms

There’s also a phrase that means the exact opposite of “getting a taste of your own medicine” and that’s “two wrongs don’t make a right.” This phrase is used in rebuking or renouncing another person’s wrongful conduct.

Origin of the Phrase

The phrase “a dose of your own medicine” was in use by 1834 and had been transformed into “a taste of your own medicine” by 1859. There isn’t any source that says a particular incident or story served as the origins for this phrase though. However, throughout the 1800s people did regard medicine as being bitter. Therefore they started to equate their dubious trips to the doctor as him being forced to take their own medicine. Eventually, people started to use this phrase to mean that when they did or said something unpleasant to someone else and later had it done to them in return. One of the most popular places where we see this phrase used is in one of Aesop’s fables entitled “The Cobbler Turned Doctor.” In this fable, the phrase isn’t used but we do see how it works as we read about a swindler who’s selling fake medicine. His claim to fame is that this medicine can be used to cure anything. When he himself eventually becomes ill the people give him some of his own medicine but he already knows that the medicine isn’t going to help him feel better. Even though the phrase “a taste of your own medicine” can’t be found in any of the translations that are in existence today it’s still plausible that the story did indeed inspire the use of this phrase.

Literature Using This Phrase

There are many other places throughout history where we find people using this phrase. For instance, you’ll find that it’s popular to use in literature. Some of the instances when this phrase is used here include:

• April 19, 1834: William Leggett used the expression in “Brought to the Gangway in The New York Mirror: A Weekly Gazette of Literature and the Fine Arts.” Here it’s used when a naval lieutenant orders the flogging of a sailor.
• November 5, 1842, it’s used in “The New York Daily Tribune”
• August 19, 1847, it’s used in a book entitled “Chance for Another War!” by Vermont Phœnix
• April 2, 1851, it’s used in “Mr. John C. Rives,” which was a column in the Washington, D.C. Daily Union
• April 1862 it’s used by Charles Coffin in “Four Years of Fighting: A Volume of Personal Observation with the Army and Navy” as he describes the Union army’s advance toward Memphis after the Battle of Shiloh
• December 24, 1859, it’s used in “The Richmond Virginia Dispatch”
• March 17, 1860 “The Cleveland Ohio Morning Leader” used it in “Stinging Speech of Mr. Van Wyck of New York — The Chivalry Enraged by His Home-Thrusts”
• August 29, 1860, it’s used in “The Wheeling, Virginia Daily Intelligencer”
• October 3, 1872, it’s found in “The Trial of Ghosts,” in “The Youth’s Companion”
• August 6, 1874, it’s used in a letter on the subject of alcohol prohibition that’s dated July 19, 1874, according to “The Index”

There are also a lot of other books that have been written over the years that have used this phrase as part of their title. These books cover a variety of topics from healthcare to memoirs. Some of these books have even made it onto the bestsellers lists. For instance, one such book entitled “A Taste of My Own Medicine: When the Doctor Is the Patient” by Edward E. Rosenbaum is about a doctor’s experiences as a cancer patient. In this book, he shares his observations regarding the practice of modern medicine.

Use Throughout Pop Culture

Literary sources such as books aren’t the only place this phrase is used. You can see or hear about someone “getting a taste of their own medicine” in a lot of songs and movies or television shows too. While there are a lot of musicians who’ve used this phrase in their songs some of the most well-known musicians include Jennifer Lopez and Kelly Clarkson. You can hear both of these women singing about men who have done them wrong – men they feel need “a taste of their own medicine.” There are also a lot of TV shows and movies that have chosen to use this phrase as part of their title. Perhaps one of the most well-known being Batman.

How to Use the Phrase

When you want to understand how to use the phrase “a taste of your own medicine” you should imagine a scenario in which before becoming pregnant you never gave your bus seat to a pregnant woman. You would “get a taste of your own medicine” if nobody gives their seat to you when you’re pregnant. Instead, people are being just as inconsiderate to you as you use to be to others.

Example Sentences

Unfortunately, there are many instances when it’d be appropriate to use this phrase in your communications today. Here are a few examples to help you get started:

1. You’re getting a dose of your own medicine so you see how it feels when someone calls you a name.
2. When he decided to show up late he got a dose of his own medicine.
3. I’m tired of how rude he is to me. I’m going to give him a dose of his own medicine.
4. People are giving you a taste of your own medicine by saying those mean things to you.
5. If you’re rude to others you should expect to get a dose of your own medicine.
6. Even though the players didn’t mind hurling abuses at their opponents they didn’t like it when their fans gave them a taste of their own medicine.
7. Although he never minds when people have to wait for him because he’s late he didn’t like it when he got a dose of his own medicine.
8. If he doesn’t change his behavior after we talk to him he’s going to get a taste of his own medicine.
9. I don’t feel sorry for how you’re being treated because you’re just getting a taste of your own medicine.
10. It’s time for those who cheat the system to get a taste of their own medicine.

Additional English Idioms

• Sit Tight
• Letting Someone Off The Hook
• Go Cold Turkey

Conclusion

The easiest way to think of someone who’s “getting a taste of their own medicine” is to think that karma is getting back at them for what they did wrong. While it started as “a dose of your own medicine” it’s transformed into “a taste of your own medicine” over the years. It’s also transformed into quite a common phrase to use today.