Many people believe the idiom for someone getting what they deserve is “just desserts”, but in fact it’s “just deserts”. It’s a now defunct version of the word “deserts” meaning “that which one deserves” that only survives today in that one idiom. But is is pronounced just like “desserts”.

Many people believe the idiom for someone getting what they deserve is “just desserts”, but in fact it’s “just deserts”. It’s a now defunct version of the word “deserts” meaning “that which one deserves” that only survives today in that one idiom. But is is pronounced just like “desserts”.

“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.”  - John A. Shedd