Does anyone know where the saying "swings & roundabouts" came from & what does it mean?

Question

Does anyone know where the saying "swings & roundabouts" came from & what does it mean?

Answer 1

This is a shortened version of the fairground proverb 'What you lose on the swings you win on the roundabouts'.

It is used to mean that things will balance out in the end.

Answer 2

SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS: This is a shortened version of the fairground proverb 'What you lose on the swings you win on the roundabouts', current from the beginning of the twentieth century in various forms. It is used to mean that things will balance out in the end. Penguin Dictionary of Cliches.

What goes around comes around. Seems to be a tautology, doesn't it?

Answer 3

It means that life or things never stay the same.  They are never all good, or never all bad. Life, financial markets, all sorts of things are sometimes 'up there', then they slide back down, then go up again, in cycles.

Swings are ups and downs or sideways slips, roundabouts are cycles.