[Idiom] Are these three phrases somewhat old and too formal, and chiefly BrE??

Hi, teachers:

I want to know if the following three phrases somewhat old and too formal to use in casual conversations. And especially, are they chiefly used in British English?? I kind of can't think of any American English articles I saw them in.

do somebody justice
serve somebody right
to one's likings

Click to expand...

I heard all these phrases from British TV shows, and most are set in Victorian time or earlier. Honestly I don't quite understand what they mean, even after I looked them up in dictionaries.

Many thanks in advance.

do somebody justice (or 'do justice to sb') - current
serve somebody right - current in the twentieth century, I'd guess, though not for the last few years. Not specifically Victorian, but a bit dated. Nurses (the sort of maidservant who looked after young children - think of Mary Poppins ;-)) used to say 'serves you right' or 'that'll teach you'
to one's likings - current, but no S (the S might be due to a false analogy with 'by one's lights' (=according to ones beliefs))

b

That was most helpful. Thank you, Mr. BobK

BobK said:

do somebody justice (or 'do justice to sb') - current
serve somebody right - current in the twentieth century, I'd guess, though not for the last few years. Not specifically Victorian, but a bit dated. Nurses (the sort of maidservant who looked after young children - think of Mary Poppins ;-)) used to say 'serves you right' or 'that'll teach you'
to one's likings - current, but no S (the S might be due to a false analogy with 'by one's lights' (=according to ones beliefs))

b

Click to expand...

All three are still in use in AmE.

As for the "formal" part, it should perhaps be noted that it's not teenage speech.

BobK: serve somebody right - current in the twentieth century, I'd guess, though not for the last few years. Not specifically Victorian, but a bit dated.


I know that I am sometimes considered old-fashioned, but my offspring are only 31 and 34, and they and their peers still use it in BrE.

fivejedjon said:

BobK: serve somebody right - current in the twentieth century, I'd guess, though not for the last few years. Not specifically Victorian, but a bit dated.


I know that I am sometimes considered old-fashioned, but my offspring are only 31 and 34, and they and their peers still use it in BrE.

Click to expand...

Oh yes - I do too. But my children are a bit younger than yours - 21 and 26 - and I think that though it's part of their passive vocabulary it's on the way out. ;-)

b

BobK said:

Oh yes - I do too. But my children are a bit younger than yours - 21 and 26 - and I think that though it's part of their passive vocabulary it's on the way out. ;-)

b

Click to expand...

Mr. Bob K, by " it's on the way out", do you mean it's turning into their active vocabulary or your children are forgetting the phrase totally??

pinbong said:

Mr. Bob K, by " it's on the way out", do you mean it's turning into their active vocabulary or your children are forgetting the phrase totally??

Click to expand...

It (the use of serve somebody right) is becoming less common, is dying out.

fivejedjon said:

It (the use of serve somebody right) is becoming less common, is dying out.

Click to expand...

I agree, but only last night I heard myself muttering "It serves him right" when a soap-opera character found himself in a bad situation.