Chrysti The Wordsmith: Goose - 1

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander is a homespun proverb meaning what's good enough for me is good enough for you. Or sometimes more specifically what's suitable for a woman is suitable for a man. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander is a very early expression of support for gender equity when English writer John Wray included the saying and his 670 collection of Proverbs he called it a woman's proverb. It would appear to draw on the logic of an expression from earlier centuries which stated as well for the cow asked for the ball. Common barnyard fall of the stars in today's proverb. Goose of course denotes the female of the species while the male is the gander. The expression reminds us that whether it's a goose or a gander on the dinner plate the same sauce dresses both. This isn't the only English language expression inspired by geese and ganders. Consider the verbal phrase take a gander meaning to look around to assess a

situation. A wild goose chase is a hopeless chaotic Quest. The proverb of the man who killed the goose that laid the golden egg cautions against greed. Next time on Christie the wordsmith a closer look at more goose phrases. I'm Christie the wordsmith. The series is recorded and produced on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman at KGO AM. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.