# get a taste of your own medicine

idiom · CEFR B1

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/get-a-taste-of-your-own-medicine
Updated: 2026-06-07

## Meaning

Get treated the way you've been treating others (negative)

## Examples

- He is always late, so today he gets a taste of his own medicine.
- The manager was always rude to the staff, but he got a taste of his own medicine when the new director treated him the same way.
- After years of manipulating his rivals to gain power, the politician finally got a taste of his own medicine when his closest allies betrayed him for their own benefit.

## Origin

From Aesop's fable of the swindler who sells fake medicine and, when ill, is made to take it himself. (disputed)

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.