ask for it

verb — 2 senses

ask for it

verb

1

Idiomatic, Informal To provoke an unwanted action; to invite a problem or fail to prevent one.

Leaving your wallet visible on the car seat is just asking for it.

2

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ask for, it.

If you'd like a fresh towel at any point during your stay, just ask for it.

Related terms: get what one asked for, have it coming, just deserts, play with fire, serve someone right

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.