Self Serve?

I get irritated when someone writes “First Come, First Serve”. This error is all too common in today’s world. I would interpret that expression to mean that whoever shows up first serves everyone after them. That’s not much of an incentive to show up first, unless you’re one of those servant heart types. (I am OK when this expression is used in tennis, ping pong, etc.)

The correct or at least more often used expression is “First Come, First Served”. This is what most people are trying to say, I think. Unfortunately, this saying is expressed incorrectly pretty often. Maybe, just maybe, we need to be sympathetic to the “First Come, First Serve” camp. After all, how can you be served if you’re the first one there?