first come, first served

English edit

Pronunciation edit

  • (file)

Phrase edit

first come, first served

  1. (idiomatic) People will be dealt with in the order they arrive.
    • 2020 January 2, Philip Haigh, “Is there relief to congestion along Castlefield Corridor?”, in Rail, page 22:
      This complicated situation means that strategically managing services through the central Manchester area and beyond is not possible for signallers in the Greater Manchester area, and trains are invariably dealt with on a 'first come, first served' basis.

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

References edit

  • Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, →ISBN, p. 99.

Adjective edit

first come, first served (not comparable)

  1. Alternative spelling of first-come-first-served

See also edit