re·tal·i·ate (r -t l  - t )v. re·tal·i·at·ed, re·tal·i·at·ing, re·tal·i·ates v.intr. To return like for like, especially evil for evil. v.tr. To pay back (an injury) in kind. [Late Latin ret lire, retlit- : Latin re-, re- + Latin tli , punishment in kind; see tel - in Indo-European roots.]re·tal i·ation n.re·tal i·ative, re·tali·a·tory (--tôr, -tr) adj.re·tal i·ator n. |
Retaliation
an eye for an eye A law which sanctions revenge; to repay in kind. This line from Exodus 21:24 is part of a longer passage in which the Lord sets forth the judgments and laws according to which the people are instructed to live. However, this expression may be even older if, as some speculate, it was part of the Code of Hammurabi (approx. 1800 B.c.). The noted resemblances between Hammurabi’s laws and ancient Mosaic laws make this theory plausible.
fight fire with fire To argue or fight with an opponent using his tactics or ground rules; to counter an attack with one of equal intensity. This expression refers to the method used to fight a rapidly spreading forest or grass fire. To control such a fire, a firebreak (an area cleared of trees, grass, and other flammable material) is often created some distance in front of the advancing flames. A backfire may then be set to burn the area between the major fire and the firebreak, thereby containing the fire within a limited area where it can be doused with water or dirt. Thus, fire is literally fought with fire in order to defeat it. In its figurative sense, to fight fire with fire is to contend with someone on his level, using his tactics to defeat him. The expression usually implies a lowering or abandonment of one’s principles.
fix [someone’s] wagon To get even with, avenge; to prevent, interfere with, or destroy another’s success, reputation, or expectations; to injure or kill. This expression may stem from the days of the covered wagons when a person’s entire family, possessions, and livelihood could be contained in one of these vehicles. An unscrupulous and vindictive enemy might “fix” the wagon in such a way as to assure that it would break down, causing injury to and possible destruction of both the wagon and its contents. The related expression fix [someone’s] little red wagon is an updated version, and all the more insidious in its implication of harming a child.
give [someone] a taste of [his] own medicine To pay someone back in his own coin, to requite a wrong in kind; also to give [someone] a dose of [his] own medicine. Use of the expression dates from the late 19th century.
In killing Bob Ollinger the Kid only gave him a dose of his own kind of medicine. (Charles A. Siringo, Riata and Spurs, 1927)
heap coals of fire on [someone’s] head
To repay hostility with kindness; to answer bad treatment with good, supposedly in order to make one’s enemy repent. The allusion is Biblical:
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. (Proverbs 25:21-22)
The usual explanation is that the “coals of fire” supposedly melted a person’s “iciness.”
pound of flesh Vengeance; requital. This expression derives from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, in which Shylock agrees to lend money to Antonio only on condition that, if the sum is not repaid on time, he be allowed a pound of Antonio’s flesh in forfeit.
The pound of flesh which I demand of him is dearly bought, ’tis mine, and I will have it. (IV, i)
The expression implies that, while the demanded retribution is justified, the yielding of it would incapacitate or destroy the giver, just as the yielding of a pound of one’s own flesh would certainly have deleterious consequences.
All the other Great Powers want their pound of flesh from Turkey. (Fortnightly Review, January, 1887)
a Roland for an Oliver An eye for an eye, a blow for a blow; retaliation in kind. Roland and Oliver, two of Charlemagne’s paladins, had adventures which were so extraordinarily similar that it was all but impossible to determine which was the more chivalrous. Eventually, the two men met face to face in combat on an island in the Rhine, where, for five days they fought fiercely, with neither gaining an advantage. The bout climaxed when both men met simultaneous untimely deaths.
We resolved to give him a Roland for his Oliver, if he attacked us. (The Life of Neville Frowde, 1773)
serve the same sauce To retaliate in like fashion; to fight fire with fire; to repay in kind.
They serve them with like sauce, requiring death for death. (Richard Eden, The Decade of the New World or West India, 1555)
Variations are serve a sop or taste of the same sauce.
tit for tat Blow for blow, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, reciprocal retaliation.
Fair Traders, Reciprocity men, or believers in the tit-for-tat plan of dealing with other nations. (Daily News, July, 1891)
According to the OED this expression is probably a variation of the earlier tip ‘light blow’ for tap ‘light blow.’
Much greater is the wrong that rewards evil for good, than that which requires tip for tap. (George Gascoigne, Works, 1577)
Other conjectures claim that tit for tat came from the French tant pour tant ‘so much for so much’ or the Dutch dit vor dat ‘this for that.’ Use of the phrase dates from at least 1556.
| Noun | 1. |  retaliation - action taken in return for an injury or offensegetting even, paying back, return - a reciprocal group action; "in return we gave them as good as we got" vengeance, payback, retribution - the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life; "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord"--Romans 12:19; "For vengeance I would do nothing. This nation is too great to look for mere revenge"--James Garfield; "he swore vengeance on the man who betrayed him"; "the swiftness of divine retribution" reprisal - a retaliatory action against an enemy in wartime |
retaliation
"The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on" [William Shakespeare Henry VI, part 3]
he sulks as a form of retaliation → su forma de desquitarse es enfurruñarse
in or by way of retaliation (for sth): he was executed in retaliation for a raid on their headquarters → lo ejecutaron como represalia por el asalto de su sede
in retaliation for → en représailles de, par représailles pour
by way of retaliation, in retaliation → per rappresaglia
in retaliation for → per vendicarsi di
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|