What does tit for tat mean?
Word: Tit for tat
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Tit for tat means doing something unpleasant back to someone because they did the same to you; paying back like with like.
Synonyms: revenge
Antonyms: forgiveness
How do you spell tit for tat?
Syllables: tit for tat
Tricky part: Oxford Learner's writes the noun as three separate words, tit for tat, with no hyphens; hyphens join them only when the phrase comes before a noun, as in a tit-for-tat attack. Students also write that for tat, or add an extra t at the end.
Watch out for: tit for that, tit four tat, tit for tatt
Memory tip: Three three-letter words: tit, for, tat. The two outer words begin and end in t, with for in the middle like the pivot of a see-saw. Add hyphens only when the phrase sits before a noun.
Tit for tat in a sentence
Example 1: After the first rude message, the class group chat turned into tit for tat.
Example 2: The two neighbours began a tit-for-tat quarrel over parking spaces.
Example 3: Both teams fouled each other, tit for tat, until the referee stepped in.
Fun Fact
In computer contests on cooperation run by the scientist Robert Axelrod around 1980, a simple tit-for-tat strategy beat far more complicated ones.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the expression tit for tat as used in the sentence:
The quarrel between the two shopkeepers soon became tit for tat, each cutting prices whenever the other did.
a) retaliation
b) friendship
c) forgiveness
d) agreement
Show answer
a) retaliation. Each cut was a reply to the other's cut, which is retaliation; the other three describe making peace.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the expression:
tit for that
a) r
b) o
c) h
d) a
Show answer
c) h. The saying pairs two little words that begin and end in t, tit and tat, so the h has to go.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that one:
1. helter-skeltar 2. hotch-poch 3. tit for tat 4. hullabalu
a) a lot of loud noise and fuss
b) in a hurried and disorganised way
c) paying someone back in the same way they hurt you
d) a confused mixture of different things
Show answer
c) paying someone back in the same way they hurt you. Hullabaloo ends in -oo, hotchpotch has tch twice with no hyphen, and helter-skelter ends both halves in -er.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which saying is closest in meaning to tit for tat?
a) practice makes perfect
b) look before you leap
c) better late than never
d) an eye for an eye
Show answer
d) an eye for an eye
2. Which of these is a tit-for-tat action?
a) Country A builds a road, so Country B opens a school
b) Country A sends flood aid, so Country B says thank you
c) Country A wins a match, so Country B claps loudly
d) Country A expels two diplomats, so Country B expels two of A's
Show answer
d) Country A expels two diplomats, so Country B expels two of A's
