What it means
It means you give someone the same treatment they gave you, whether that's a favour or a bit of aggro. If they help you, you help them back. If they start being petty, you send that same petty little boomerang right back. You'll hear it a lot for back-and-forth revenge that keeps escalating because nobody wants to drop it.
Usage examples
"He left me on read, so I left him on read back. Now we’re doing tit for tat and the group chat’s dying."
"It descended into a tit-for-tat spat, each one slamming the door a bit harder."
"The two firms got into a tit-for-tat price war that helped nobody."
"It started with one snide comment and now it's pure tit for tat every time they clock in."
"She nicked my charger, so I took her mug. Petty little tit for tat, innit."
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Where it comes from
It comes from the older English phrase tip for tap, around since the 1500s, where one hit got answered with another. Over time the wording shifted into tit for tat, but the core stayed put. Same action, same energy, straight back at the sender.
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