first come, first served

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first come, first served

1. (idiomatic) People will be dealt with in the order they arrive.

• first-come-first-served

Similar phrases using elliptical causation ("if/then"):

• another day, another dollar
• fall seven times, stand up eight
• finders, keepers
• in for a dime, in for a dollar
• in for an inch, in for a mile
• in for a penny, in for a pound
• laugh before breakfast, cry before supper
• least said, soonest mended
• mo' money, mo' problems
• no body, no crime
• no cross, no crown
• no fears, no tears
• no guts, no glory
• no harm, no foul
• no hero, no villain
• no losers, no winners
• no pain, no gain
• nothing ventured, nothing gained
• once bitten, twice shy
• out of sight, out of mind
• waste not, want not

• Gregory Y. Titelman, Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings, 1996, ISBN 0-679-44554-4, p. 99.

first come, first served (not comparable)

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

• FIFO