Meanings of “Tit for Tat”
The phrase “tit for tat” means a kind response or counterattack. It also refers to an act of retaliation.
Origin of “Tit for Tat”
The phrase, “tit for tat” may have originated from a parable, The Spider and the Flie, published in 1556, where goes thus: “That is tit for tat in this altricacion [altercation].”
Later, in the 20th century, it appeared as slang in Songs & Slang of the British Soldier, written by Eric Partridge published in 1930, where it is used as; “Tit-for, tit-for-tat, that is, hat.” Since then, the phrase has been used by various authors conveying different shades of meanings.
Examples from Literature
Example #1
Tit For Tat by Walter de la Mare
“Have you been catching fish, Tom Noddy?
Have you snared a weeping hare?
Have you whistled ‘No Nunny’ and gunned a poor bunny,
Or blinded a bird of the air?Have you trod like a murderer through the green woods,
Through the dewy deep dingles and glooms,
While every small creature screamed shrill to Dame Nature
‘He comes – and he comes!’?Wonder I very much do, Tom Noddy,
If ever, when off you roam,
An ogre from space will stoop a lean face,
And lug you home:Lug you home over his fence, Tom Noddy,
Of thorn-sticks nine yards high,
With your bent knees strung round his old iron gun
And your head a dan-dangling by.”
This poem speaks about a boy, Tom Noddy, who ruthlessly kills a creature living in a forest. The first two stanzas detail the sport of that cruel boy, who loves to tread like a murderer in the woods and kills innocent birds and animals. The third stanza captures the fear of animals and birds caused by his presence. The last two stanzas clearly demonstrate the implied meanings of the phrase, where the speaker asks the boy to imagine if someone destroys his house and makes him bend on his knees. The speaker threatens that an ogre will do everything he does to the poor creatures. The ogre will also dangle him by his head to feel the pain and suffering he causes to the innocent creatures.
Example #2
Tit for Tat; a Tale by John Aikin
“A LAW there is of ancient fame,
By nature’s self in every land implanted,
Lex Talionis is its Latin name;
But if an English term be wanted,
Give your next neighbour but a pat
He’ll give back as good, and tell you “tit for tat.”This “tit for tat”, it seems, not men alone,
But elephants, for legal justice own;
In proof of this a story I shall tell ye,
Imported from the famous town of Delhi.”
These two stanzas have been taken from the poem “Tit for Tat; a Tale” which explains the phrase in the first stanza. The speaker talks about a person named Lex and asks him to pat his neighbor. However, if the pat is not well received, the neighbor might hit you back and say the phrase. According to the speaker, humans, as well as animals like elephants, maintain ‘tit for tat’ to maintain justice.
Example #3
Tit For Tat by Christopher Morley
I often pass a gracious tree
Whose name I can’t identify,
QBut still I bow, in courtesy
It waves a bough, in kind reply.I do not know your name, O tree
(Are you a hemlock or a pine?)
But why should that embarrass me?
Quite probably you don’t know mine.
This short poem explores that tit for tat is not an odd term; rather it is a common phenomenon, equally understood by humans, animals, and nature. The writer narrates an exciting experience of his life in the first stanza, where he says that he often bows for a gracious tree, and the tree, in return, bows for him. However, when the traveler asks the name of the tree. The tree replies that it’s nothing embarrassing as the tree doesn’t remember the names of any passer-by.
Example #4
From Tit For Tat to Treat for Tat by Dr. Pal
Dr. Pal, in his book, Tit For Tat to Treat for Tat, presents a compendium of useful pieces of advice along with practical information on a range of topics that can help us lead a happy life. The content covers every aspect of human life, covering every dimension of human personality including mental, physical, spiritual, and psychological. The useful examples, witty pieces of advice, and thoughtful suggestions in the book intend to contribute positivity to humans. It enables them to achieve a broader and better perspective of life. This shows that the phrase has been used in the same meanings as given above.
Examples in Sentences
Example #1: “This year my friend, Josh didn’t greet me on my birthday. Perhaps it is tit for tat, as I forgot to wish him, too.”
Example #2: “The wars are all about tit for tat, the rival kingdoms want to cause destruction without caring about the civilians.”
Example #3: “America and China have expelled their newly appointed diplomats in a round of tit for tat expulsions.”
Example #4: “The army has successfully learned to control tit for tat violence, and the troops trying their best to prevent retaliatory counter-attacks.”
Example #5: “The tit for tat politics of our country is damaging the roots of our economic growth.”
