tit for tat

English

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tit for tat (plural tit for tats)

(idiomatic) equivalent retribution, an eye for an eye, returning exactly what you get.
If you hit me, I'll hit you back; tit for tat.
(Cockney rhyming slang) hat.

returning exactly what you get

tit for tat (not comparable)

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.
- From The Guardian June, 22 2007.
  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.

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As an adjective, tit-for-tat uses hyphens.

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