give and take

See also: give-and-take

English

Etymology

First use appears c. 1769. See cite below.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

give and take (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) A process of compromise or accommodation.

   Antonyms: inflexibility, rigidity, stubbornness

   Near-synonyms: accommodation, compromise, concession, flexibility

   They hoped for an amicable solution, but both knew it would require some give and take.

   • 1769, St. James's Chronicle:

     Will be run for on Huish Downs..A Free Plate of ₤50. Give and Take, by any Horse, Mare, or Gelding.

   • 1966, Holland–Dozier–Holland, “You Can't Hurry Love”, in Hello, I Must Be Going!‎^[1], performed by Phil Collins, published 1982:

     My mama said "you can't hurry love / No, you'll just have to wait" / She said "love don't come easy / But it's a game of give and take"

Translations

Translations

• Catalan: estira-i-arronsa (ca) m
• Finnish: kompromissi (fi), myönnytys
• French: concessions f pl, compromis m pl, donnant donnant (fr)
• German: Geben und Nehmen n
• Greek: πάρε δώσε (el) n (páre dóse)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gi og ta

• Polish: coś za coś
• Portuguese: toma lá dá cá
• Spanish: toma y daca (es)

See also

• golden rule
• one must give to get
• quid pro quo
• reciprocity
• return the favor
• you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours