Sometimes the beloved characters leave far too soon, and sometimes the bad guys get their deserts right. (New York Times) These deserts of the «Book of Eli» are the place where the imagination, no matter how bizarre or hideous, can undeniably become real. As these examples show, only the desert is used almost exclusively to refer to punishment rather than reward: since dessert usually arrives at the end of a meal and is often seen as a reward for good behavior, it`s easy to see how often people do it wrong. In the following examples, desserts were mistakenly exchanged for desserts – but since these phrases refer to crime and punishment, references to sugary treats don`t make sense: A study recently published in the journal Nature looked at how mice responded to a diet containing artificial sweeteners. It was not a place of commerce and was a hundred miles from Chaldea, and deserts lay in between. The man got his deserts righteous, but he didn`t deserve to be called a traitor without trial and conviction (Washington Times) It`s easy to confuse desserts with desserts because both words are pronounced the same way. But the word deserts in this sentence has nothing to do with cakes and ice cream or dry and sandy places. Instead, the desert comes from the same root as deserved, which should help you understand the meaning of this phrase: a punishment that is rightfully deserved. Getting your deserts righteous refers to receiving an appropriate punishment for each offense you have committed. A deserved punishment or reward, as in He obtained His wilderness just when Mary shook Him.
This phrase uses the desert in the sense of «what you deserve,» a usage from the 1300s, but obsolete except in this expression. They floated along the walls of the mountains, above the deserts and in the streets of the city. In the United States, the consequences of violating these laws are based on a system of retaliatory justice in which a person is held accountable for his crime and punished in the form of his «fair desserts». (Slate) A handsome highwayman and a miserable chimney sweep were to be hung together at Newgate for their respective deserts. Again, a husband who distances his wife from him by his misconduct leaves her as clearly as if he had left her. Remember, the word win is the key to understanding this expression: This use of the desert is an ancient nominal form of winning. When you get your fair trade desserts, you get the punishment you deserve – not a double chocolate brownie or a trendy piece of cake! No, give me deserts or abysses – anything solid is better than this capricious and ever-changing sea. «Justice exists when people receive their desserts righteously. Committing a crime should have consequences. It was not justice,» he said. (Washington Times) In the just-released USA Today/Suffolk poll, Roberts is five points behind his opponent.
And the lambs will feed according to their order, and the foreigners will eat the desserts, which will be transformed into fertility. There, abandoned «ghost towns» populate prairie fields and deserts, reminiscent of a not-so-distant past. We stay short and sweet – this phrase has nothing to do with sweet treats. Harvard Square, 17 Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika.