tit-for-tat

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See also: tit for tat

English

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Etymology

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From tit for tat.

Adjective

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tit-for-tat (not comparable)

  1. Having the characteristic of returning bad for bad.
    Unfortunately, many adults retain a tit-for-tat attitude, but in a more refined way than the simple, childish shove for shove.
    • 2007 June 22, The Guardian, London:
      Amid fears that the end to more than five and a half years of talks would lead to a new era of tit-for-tat protectionism, negotiations between the United States and the European Union broke down.