slang To act in a way that warrants the punishment or other repercussions that follow. This is a set phrase. Did you draw on the wall? Oh, you're asking for it now!Mary is a very patient person, so if she dumped Phil, he must have asked for it.
if you say that someone who gets hurt or punished was asking for it, you mean that they deserved what happened to them Picking a fight with those hooligans was really asking for it.Fired? Well, she asked for it, didn't she?