tit-for-tat
See also: tit for tat
English
editEtymology
editFrom tit for tat.
Adjective
edittit-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.
- 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.