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Tweeted twitter.com/StackEnglish/status/951168561548062720
Removed tag:entomology (study of bugs) and replaced it with tag:etymology
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Lawrence
Lawrence
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Fixed typo
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1006a
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Entomology for Etymology of "fixing someone's wagon"

I'm looking for the entomologyorigin of the expression: "fixing someone's wagon".

As in:

Alice, with malice on her face, exclaimed "Maybe some hijinks will teach that scoundrel!"

Bob rolled his eyes and sarcastically responds, "Yea, that'll really fix his wagon!"

I've found here and here that it's basically about bringing someone their downfall, but why?

I love the phrase, but I can't figure out how "fixing someone's wagon" equated to ruining their chances of success, or bringing about their downfall, etc.? Were wagon mechanics particularly malicious?

Entomology for "fixing someone's wagon"

I'm looking for the entomology of the expression: "fixing someone's wagon".

As in:

Alice, with malice on her face, exclaimed "Maybe some hijinks will teach that scoundrel!"

Bob rolled his eyes and sarcastically responds, "Yea, that'll really fix his wagon!"

I've found here and here that it's basically about bringing someone their downfall, but why?

I love the phrase, but I can't figure out how "fixing someone's wagon" equated to ruining their chances of success, or bringing about their downfall, etc.? Were wagon mechanics particularly malicious?

Etymology of "fixing someone's wagon"

I'm looking for the origin of the expression: "fixing someone's wagon".

As in:

Alice, with malice on her face, exclaimed "Maybe some hijinks will teach that scoundrel!"

Bob rolled his eyes and sarcastically responds, "Yea, that'll really fix his wagon!"

I've found here and here that it's basically about bringing someone their downfall, but why?

I love the phrase, but I can't figure out how "fixing someone's wagon" equated to ruining their chances of success, or bringing about their downfall, etc.? Were wagon mechanics particularly malicious?

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coblr
coblr
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Entomology for "fixing someone's wagon"

I'm looking for the entomology of the expression: "fixing someone's wagon".

As in:

Alice, with malice on her face, exclaimed "Maybe some hijinks will teach that scoundrel!"

Bob rolled his eyes and sarcastically responds, "Yea, that'll really fix his wagon!"

I've found here and here that it's basically about bringing someone their downfall, but why?

I love the phrase, but I can't figure out how "fixing someone's wagon" equated to ruining their chances of success, or bringing about their downfall, etc.? Were wagon mechanics particularly malicious?