[ascotan]

desert i don't think means deserving. It comes from the latin desertus which means to "make barren or empty/forsake". I think in this context it means to have something fail or be abandoned at a critical moment.

[542458]

The person you’re replying to is correct - “desert” is in some contexts an old word that’s pronounced like “dessert” but spelled with one “s” that means “the punishment that one deserves”.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/just-deserts-o...

[lnx01]

Also, "desert" as the present tense of "deserted". As in "All my friends have deserted me." Or, "The Sgt. Major punished the deserter."

[nightpool]

https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/desert