Idiom
an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
Meaning
compensation for injury caused by a person, in the form of inflicting of an identical injury on that person.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He believes in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“She wants an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth after the argument.”
“Is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth always the best way?”
“The rival gangs operate on the principle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, leading to endless conflict.”
“If you break my phone on purpose, I will break yours because I believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“The neighbors keep damaging each other's fences in a cycle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“The politician argued that strict prison sentences are not about rehabilitation, but rather a simple case of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“The ancient legal code demanded an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, ensuring that the punishment always mirrored the original crime.”
Examples
simple
“He believes in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“She wants an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth after the argument.”
“Is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth always the best way?”
contextual
“The rival gangs operate on the principle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, leading to endless conflict.”
“If you break my phone on purpose, I will break yours because I believe in an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“The neighbors keep damaging each other's fences in a cycle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
“The politician argued that strict prison sentences are not about rehabilitation, but rather a simple case of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”
complex
“The ancient legal code demanded an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, ensuring that the punishment always mirrored the original crime.”
Origin
Reference to Exodus 21:23-25: "And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe". (King James Version)
Key words
Related idioms
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