tit for tat



tit for tat

Repayment in kind, retaliation, as in If he won't help with the beach clean-up, I won't run a booth at the bake sale; that's tit for tat . This term is believed to be a corruption of tip for tap, which meant "a blow for a blow." Its current form dates from the mid-1500s.
See also: tat, tit

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
RikkeREEK-keDanish
CollinKAHL-inEnglish
Reyhangul-Uyghur
ErickaER-i-kəEnglish
Alfhild-Norwegian, Swedish
Willeminavil-lə-MEE-nah, wil-lə-MEE-nahDutch