Englishtit for tat
Meaning: An action in exchange for another equal action.
Example: “He hid her keys, she hid his shoes: pure tit for tat.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: La réponse du berger à la bergère Literally: The shepherd's reply to the shepherdess
Origin: Most likely an alteration of the earlier "tip for tap," attested in the 1500s, where a tip and a tap are both light blows — so the original sense was a blow returned for a blow received, and the phrase described physical retaliation before it described anything more abstract. The modern shape follows the vowel-alternation pattern English applies to reduplicated pairs, the same one that fixes the order in pitter-patter, tick-tock, and zigzag. The expression acquired an unexpected second career in the twentieth century, when Tit for Tat was the name given to the strikingly successful strategy in computer tournaments of the repeated prisoner's dilemma: cooperate first, then simply do whatever the other player did last.
More English idioms
- to beat the band In an exaggerated manner; with a lot of effort or to the extreme.
- to the hilt To be fully committed to something; to do something completely.
- troubled waters Emotionally rough times or an unsettled situation.
- true blue Loyal and steadfast.
- turning point A critical point.
- under the table Secretly or illegally.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- Поспешишь — людей насмешишь (Pospeshish' — lyudey nasmeshish') Doing things in a hurry makes you look foolish.
- Взялся за гуж, не говори, что не дюж (Vzyalsya za guzh, ne govori, chto ne dyuzh) Once you've taken something on, don't complain that it's too hard.
- 犬も歩けば棒に当たる (Inu mo arukeba bō ni ataru) Go out and act, and something will happen to you, for better or worse.
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