{"id":2963,"date":"2022-04-08T17:15:39","date_gmt":"2022-04-08T17:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=2963"},"modified":"2022-04-08T17:15:39","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T17:15:39","slug":"revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-cold-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-cold-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to threaten someone with revenge? You can do it in style by telling them, \u201c<em>revenge is a dish best served cold<\/em>.\u201d What does this mean? Are you threatening to poison their food? Let\u2019s unpack the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The meaning of the proverbial phrase \u201c<em>revenge is a dish best served cold<\/em>\u201d is that taking revenge at a later date is more satisfying that enacting it immediately.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Taking revenge later means you have time to premeditate your revenge to perfection instead of acting in haste. The saying means that the longer you wait to take revenge, the more satisfying it is when you do.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cOh, well, if that\u2019s how you feel, then fine. No, I\u2019m not going to do anything right now. Revenge is a dish best served cold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy would I take my revenge now? The cops will know it was me. I\u2019d rather wait a few months for the heat to die down and get him back. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll just sit here, old back of the bus, and wait it out. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and it\u2019s in the freezer right now; just wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRevenge is a dish best served cold. He waited a decade to get that old man back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2964\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Revenge-is-a-Dish-Best-Served-Cold.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"149\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2965\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Revenge-is-a-Dish-Best-Served-Cold2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"163\" height=\"163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Revenge-is-a-Dish-Best-Served-Cold2.jpg 229w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Revenge-is-a-Dish-Best-Served-Cold2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/Revenge-is-a-Dish-Best-Served-Cold2-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 163px) 100vw, 163px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the expression, \"revenge is a dish best served cold,\" comes from French author Eug\u00e8ne Sue and his novel, \"Memoirs of Matilda. \"The English translation of the work by D. G. Osbourne, published in 1846, has the phrase appear as follows.<\/p>\n<p>\"And then revenge is very good eaten cold, as the vulgar say.\"<\/p>\n<p>The phrase went through several changes over the centuries before landing on its modern version in the 1980s. There are several uses of the expression in cinema, and the progression of the saying goes as follows.<\/p>\n<p>The Godfather (1972) Don Corleone said, \"Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold.\"<\/p>\n<p>Star Trek II, The Wrath of Kahn (1982) is the first use of the modern phrase, \"Kirk, old friend, do you know the Klingon proverb, \"Revenge is a dish best served cold?\"<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Who said the quote Revenge is a dish best served cold?\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mo3hCqAMlXs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>An eye for an eye.<\/li>\n<li>Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Lashing out in revenge.<\/li>\n<li>Immediate reaction.<\/li>\n<li>Time heals all wounds.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Revenge is a dish best served cold.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The saying doesn\u2019t refer to serving people bad food. It\u2019s a way of saying that you\u2019re willing to let time pass before acting out your revenge on someone that did you wrong. Using it to describe serving people tainted or poisoned food is incorrect.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \u201crevenge is a dish best served cold\u201d as a veiled threat to someone. The threat could have a serious intention or a lighthearted one, depending on the context of the conversation. The phrase suits professional and social dialogue.<\/p>\n<p>You could use it at work to threaten another sales rep who stole your leads. Or you could use it at home after your brother pulls a prank on you. Typically, the person making the threat doesn\u2019t intend to carry it out.<\/p>\n<p>You can also use the phrase to describe someone\u2019s revenge you hear about in the media. If it fits the same profile of the person waiting a long time to carry out their revenge, then it\u2019s suitable to use the saying.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to threaten someone with revenge? You can do it in style by telling them, \u201crevenge is a dish best served cold.\u201d What does this mean? Are you threatening to poison their food? Let\u2019s unpack the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The meaning of the proverbial phrase \u201crevenge [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2963"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3069,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2963\/revisions\/3069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2963"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2963"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2963"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}