Idiom
dish out somethingdish out (something)
to give something too freely and in large amounts.The mayor was famous for dishing out political favors to his pals.
Usage notes: often it is criticism or unfriendly remarks that are dished out:
She dished out insults as easily as some of us dish out praise.
sometimes appears as the full expression you can dish it out but you can't take it - you can give criticism freely but you cannot deal with it yourself:I try not to argue with him because I know he can dish it out but he can't take it.
Related vocabulary: dish the dirt on someone/something
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of dish out food (= to serve food)