a Roland for an Oliver

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the stories of Roland and Oliver, legendary knights of equal might.

Noun[edit]

a Roland for an Oliver (plural Rolands for Olivers)

  1. (idiomatic) Equal measure; measure for measure; adequate response.
    • 1825, William Hazlitt, “Mr. Malthus”, in The Spirit of the Age [] , London: Printed for Henry Colburn, [], →OCLC:
      Mr. Godwin has lately attempted an answer to the Essay (thus giving Mr. Malthus a Roland for his Oliver) but we think he has judged ill in endeavouring to invalidate the principle, instead of confining himself to point out the misapplication of it.
    • 1878, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Crabbed Age and Youth”, in Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, London: C[harles] Kegan Paul & Co., [], published 1881, →OCLC, page 92:
      It is held to be a good taunt, and somehow or other to clinch the question logically, when an old gentleman waggles his head and says: "Ah, so I thought when I was your age." It is not thought an answer at all, if the young man retorts: "My venerable sir, so I shall most probably think when I am yours." And yet the one is as good as the other: pass for pass, tit for tat, a Roland for an Oliver.
    • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XL, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers [], →OCLC:
      I had to bite my lip to prevent myself from laughing. What he said had a hateful truth in it, and another defect of my character is that I enjoy the company of those, however depraved, who can give me a Roland for my Oliver.

Synonyms[edit]