Idiom
tit for tat
Meaning
Equivalent retribution; an act of returning exactly what one gets; an eye for an eye.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Their argument turned into a petty game of tit for tat.”
“The two neighbors were locked in a cycle of tit for tat, constantly reporting each other for minor property violations.”
“The diplomatic negotiations collapsed as both nations engaged in a destructive cycle of tit for tat, responding to every new sanction with an equally severe retaliatory measure.”
Examples
simple
“Their argument turned into a petty game of tit for tat.”
contextual
“The two neighbors were locked in a cycle of tit for tat, constantly reporting each other for minor property violations.”
complex
“The diplomatic negotiations collapsed as both nations engaged in a destructive cycle of tit for tat, responding to every new sanction with an equally severe retaliatory measure.”
Origin
Tit for tat is a rhyme for hat.
Key words
Related idioms
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