Answers 2

What’s good for the goose is good for the gander

This came From the original proverb: "What's sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander"

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition 2002, says that this means, What is good for a man is equally good for a woman; or, what a man can have or do, so can a woman have or do.

I don't think it just relates to men and women though, I think it has a broader meaning, as in: you can't have one set of rules for you and a different set of rules for me. In fact on another Dictionary web site it says exactly that:

A saying to denote that one oughtn't have one set of rules for one party (usually yourself) and a different set for another party (usually someone else) in a similar situation.

It went on to include the following:

For example, the United States is a big fan of bringing the heads of other countries before the war crimes tribunal in the Hague, in spite of the fact that they commit many of the same ' offenses'. Judicious application of this principle would require William Jefferson Clinton to stand in the same dock as Slobodan Milosevic for graphite bomb and depleted uranium usage. Not that that's ever going to happen.

On the website www.cliche.com it has the following two meanings: 1. You got what you deserved. 2. Justice was served.

So, I haven't managed to establish where the saying originated from only it's meaning/s. I still think that it means if it's good enough for the Queen, then it's good enough for me.

It's official, I'm sharing the Queens sauce!