ENGLISH
REFERENCE

dish out

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to give things to a lot of people, or to give out a lot of something like advice or criticism.

phr. v.. to distribute something, often in large quantities or in a casual, indiscriminate manner; frequently used figuratively for non-material things like punishment or opinions.


SIMPLE

The teacher started to dish out the exam papers.

CONTEXTUAL

He is always happy to dish out advice, even when nobody asks him for it.

COMPLEX

The judge was known for dishing out harsh sentences to repeat offenders to deter further criminal activity in the city.

Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
dish + out + object
Usage

often used when the speaker thinks the distribution is excessive or careless.

Teaching tip

the literal origin refers to serving food from a large dish; use this image to help students understand the 'giving out' motion.

Pitfall

He dished the advice out.He dished out the advice.while technically optional, 'dish out' is most commonly used as a unit before the object, especially with abstract nouns.

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