fix someone's wagon
To cause injury, distress, or inconvenience to someone, especially as punishment or as a comeuppance.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“If he keeps lying to me, I will fix his wagon.”
“I will fix your wagon if you steal my lunch again.”
“The manager decided to fix the dishonest employee's wagon by reporting his actions to the board.”
“When the neighbor kept parking in her driveway, she finally fixed his wagon by having the car towed away at his expense.”
“The store owner fixed the shoplifter's wagon by handing the security footage directly to the local police officers.”
“After discovering the betrayal, she plotted a clever scheme to fix his wagon and ensure he faced the full consequences of his deceit.”
The idiom derives from an archaic sense of the word fix, which meant to fix an object in place or render it unable to move. This sense of the term survives in the modern word affix. The expression is rooted in the literal immobilisation of a wagon, the functional result being that the owner is unable to proceed with their intended journey.
- 01
another nail in someone's coffin
An event that increases the likelihood of or causes further failure.
- 02
answer someone's prayers
To be or do exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.
- 03
answer to someone's prayers
Exactly what someone has been wishing or asking for.
- 04
apple of someone's eye
The object of somebody's affections; a person (or sometimes a thing) that someone strongly prefers; a favorite, a loved one.
- 05
bane of someone's existence
Someone or something that poses a significant problem to someone.
- 06
bash someone's face in
To beat someone violently.
- 07
bash someone's head
To beat up someone violently.
- 08
be someone's to lose
To be anticipated to be won by someone.
Last updated August 10, 2026