comeuppance

Contents 1 English 1.1 Alternative forms 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Pronunciation 1.4 Noun 1.4.1 Synonyms 1.4.2 Translations

[edit] English

[edit] Alternative forms

• comeupance

[edit] Etymology

From come up (“appear before a judge”) + -ance.

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /kʌmˈʌpəns/

[edit] Noun

comeuppance (plural comeuppances)

1. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) An outcome which is justly deserved (good or bad).
   • 1883, Albion Winegar Tourgée (editor), The Continent; an illustrated weekly magazine, Volume 3,

     So when Brown's second wife turned out a reg'lar ternygrunt, I wa'n't in no wise upset, for he needed a comeuppance, an' he got it in her.

   • 1918, Booth Tarkington, The Magnificent Ambersons Chapter X,

     The Sunday edition of the principal morning paper even expressed some bitterness under the heading, "Gilded Youths of the Fin-de-Siecle"--this was considered the knowing phrase of the time, especially for Sunday supplements--and there is no doubt that from certain references in this bit of writing some people drew the conclusion that Mr. George Amberson Minafer had not yet got his comeuppance, a postponement still irritating.

   • 1958 October 13, Yankee Comeuppance in a Lousy Inning, in Life, Volume 45, Number 15, page 34,

     The Yankees got their comeuppance in Milwaukee when the Braves piled up a record score for the first inning of a World Series game.

   • 2004, Peter Hunt, Sheila G. Bannister Ray (editors), International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature, page 862,

     […] in the anonymous A New Gift for Children (1750), perhaps America's first secular storybook, and its tales of children who are good and merit rewards, and tales of children who are otherwise and receive their comeuppances.

[edit] Synonyms

• just deserts

[edit] Translations