• Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Modern Manners Guy
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
What's Hot

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

March 27, 2023

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

March 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

March 22, 2023
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Instagram
Quick and Dirty Tips
  • Podcasts
    • Grammar Girl
    • Curious State
    • Get-Fit Guy
    • Money Girl
    • Project Parenthood
    • Relationship Doctor
    • Modern Mentor
    • Nutrition Diva
    • Savvy Psychologist
    • Who Knew?
    • Unknown History
    • Modern Manners Guy
  • Books
  • Categories
    • Health & Fitness
    • House & Home
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
    • Pets
    • Education
    • Tech
    • Productivity
    • Business & Career
    • Money & Finance
  • Offers
  • About QDT
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Instagram opens in a new window Pinterest
Quick and Dirty Tips
You are at:Home » The Meaning of ‘Just Desserts’
Grammar Girl

The Meaning of ‘Just Desserts’

Can the noun “desert” mean more than just a hot place?

By Bonnie MillsDecember 10, 20202 Comments4 Mins Read
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Pinterest opens in a new window LinkedIn opens in a new window Tumblr opens in a new window Email
opens in a new window Apple Podcast Page opens in a new window Spotify Podcast Page opens in a new window Google Podcast Page opens in a new window Sticher Podcast Page
Woman holding stand with delicious strawberry cake dessert on light backgroundopens IMAGE file
Share
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Pinterest opens in a new window WhatsApp opens in a new window Email

The phrase "just deserts" means getting what you deserve, and it's spelled with just one S in the middle.

If you’re at all like me, you could live on desserts. That’s with two S’s in the middle. The downside to eating this way for chocoholics and sugar addicts is that we tend to get big middles. The question is, are we getting our just deserts or just desserts as a result of our eating habits?

What ‘getting your just deserts’ means

We’ve all used the phrase “just deserts/just desserts.” Notice that the words “deserts,” spelled with one S in the middle, and “desserts,” with two S’s, sound the same. When you’re speaking, it doesn’t matter so much how many S’s are in the word. A problem arises, however, when you have to write the expression. Before we delve into how to spell it, though, let’s see what it means and how to use it.

If you get your just deserts, you get what you deserve. The consequence you get could be good or bad, but the phrase usually has a negative connotation (1), as in if you did something bad and then something bad happened to you in return, you got what you justly deserved. For example, if you were in a vindictive mood, you could say, “She got her just deserts when she failed the final exam after paying someone to do all her homework.”

The correct phrase is ‘just deserts’

So how do you spell it? The phrase comes from the French verb “deserver” — with only one S — which means “serve well” (2). Much as we might like to put two S’s into this expression, one S in the middle is correct.

You’re probably shaking your head right now and thinking, but “deserts” pronounced “desserts” looks weird written with one S in the middle. Yes, you’re right. It’s logical to read “just deserts” (with one S in the middle) and think the writer meant “just deserts”—no rainforests, no grasslands. Just deserts.

Odd as it may be, the word “deserts,” with one S in the middle and pronounced like the sweet treat, has been used in English since the thirteenth century to mean “things deserved” (3) and nowadays is used more or less exclusively in this phrase only (4). You don’t hear people saying sentences such as “Their deserts for getting good grades were an extra hour of TV.” Instead, you’d hear, “They deserved to watch an extra hour of TV because they got good grades.”

The sweet treat, dessert, has two S’s, and the second syllable is stressed. The arid place, desert, on the other hand, has one S, and the first syllable is stressed. The noun that means what you deserve, spelled “desert” with one S, confusingly has the second syllable stressed, just like the word that refers to cake or cookies.

‘Just desserts’ is popular, but it’s not right

As you might guess, many people spell “just deserts” incorrectly, with two S’s in the middle. You might not guess, on the other hand, just how many people do it.

If you do a straight Google search for the phrase “got his just deserts/desserts,” with each of the two spellings, the wrong spelling gets a little more than 3 times as many results. Don’t always go for the popular answer, kids!

But if you want to know the importance of a good editor, you can look at Google Ngram searches for the same phrases because this database contains text from books, which tend to have been edited, unlike a lot of the results from the web. Then you see that the proper spelling, “got his just deserts,” with one S, is about 1.5 times more common. That’s not as great as you’d hope, but at least the right spelling won once more editors were involved.

‘Just deserts’: exceptions and alternatives

Now, if you own a bakery or were a fan of the Bravo TV cooking show, go ahead and use the pun “Just Desserts”—that is, “desserts” with two S’s in the middle. In these cases, you probably are concerned about just desserts. Nothing savory for you.

Although “just deserts” is a perfectly useful phrase, the pronunciation and spelling confuse a lot of people. If you’re speaking, it’s not a problem, but you may encounter readers who mistakenly think you’ve made an error when you properly write “just deserts” with one S. If that’s a concern, you can just say that so and so got what he deserved. Maybe he even deserved dessert.

References

1. Oxford Dictionaries. “deserts.” https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/deserts.
2. Oxford Dictionaries. “deserts.” https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/deserts.
3. The Phrase Finder. “Just Deserts.” https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/just-deserts.html.
4. The Phrase Finder. “Just Deserts.” https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/just-deserts.html.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

Bonnie Mills

Bonnie Mills has been a copyeditor since 1996.


View 2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Pingback: Top 20 what are just desserts | Zailzeorth's Blog

  2. Pingback: Top 10+ what is just desserts | Zailzeorth's Blog

Don't Miss

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

By Rachel CookeMarch 27, 2023

Construct a Thriving Employee Experience I use a framework to help companies understand the employee…

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

March 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

March 22, 2023

Expert Advice on Real Estate Investing and Syndication

March 17, 2023
Stay In Touch
  • opens in a new window Facebook 12K
  • opens in a new window Twitter 25.7K
  • opens in a new window Pinterest 18.5K
  • opens in a new window Instagram 123K
  • opens in a new window YouTube 23K
  • opens in a new window Vimeo 11.2K
Our Picks

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

By Rachel CookeMarch 27, 2023

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

By Kevin DonMarch 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

By Editor, Grammar GirlMarch 22, 2023
opens in a new window Demo

Subscribe

opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Apple Podcast Page opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Spotify Podcast Page opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Google Podcast Page opens in a new window Bonnie Mills for Sticher Podcast Page

Books

Book Cover for Quick and dirty Tips for Better Writing
opens in a new windowB image for Amazon.com opens in a new windowB image for Barnes and Noble opens in a new windowB image for IndiBOund opens in a new windowB image for  Apple iBookstore opens in a new windowB image for IndiBOund
Ultimate Writing Guide
opens in a new windowU image for Amazon.com opens in a new windowU image for Barnes and Noble opens in a new windowU image for IndiBOund opens in a new windowU image for  Apple iBookstore

Don't miss

Never miss another tip! Join our list to get updates from your favorite hosts delivered straight to your inbox
Sign Up
ABOUT US
logo-img

Whether you want to manage your money better, rock your professional life, stay fit and eat healthy, or discover the keys to better mental health, Quick and Dirty Tips delivers short-form podcasts and articles every week to keep you at the top of your game, usually in ten minutes or less!

Email: contact@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email

QUICK LINKS
  • opens in a new windowHealth & Fitness
  • opens in a new windowHouse & Home
  • opens in a new windowParenting
  • opens in a new windowRelationships
  • opens in a new windowPets
  • opens in a new windowEducation
  • opens in a new windowTech
  • opens in a new windowProductivity
  • opens in a new windowBusiness & Career
  • opens in a new windowMoney & Finance
  • opens in a new windowHow to listen
  • opens in a new windowPrivacy notice
  • opens in a new windowAds & Cookies
  • opens in a new windowTerms of Use
  • opens in a new windowAbout QDT
  • opens in a new windowOur Hosts
OUR PICKS

Thrive in the Workplace by Building on These Pillars

March 27, 2023

Post-Training Soreness: Are You Getting Stronger?

March 24, 2023

Grammar Quirks: Juan Gomez-Jurado on His ‘False Friend’ in Writing

March 22, 2023
opens in a new window Facebook opens in a new window Twitter opens in a new window Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Quick & Dirty Tips™ and related trademarks appearing on this website are the property of Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.