Tit for tat

The sad truth

 

of the tit-for-tat sanctions that Russia has imposed against the West is that they will hurt Russians far more than they will hurt Westerners.

Why?

Tit for tat is an English saying meaning "equivalent retaliation".

Ah so...

The success of the tit-for-tat (TFT) strategy, which is largely cooperative despite that its name emphasizes an adversarial nature, took many by surprise. In successive competitions various teams produced complex strategies which attempted to "cheat" in a variety of cunning ways, but TFT eventually prevailed in every competition. Furthermore, new strategies formulated specifically to combat tit-for-tat failed due to their negative interactions with each other; a successful strategy other than tit-for-tat would have to be formulated with both tit-for-tat and itself in mind.

largely cooperative sanctions

Kažką primena:)

tit for tat

1550s, possibly an alteration of tip for tap "blow for blow," from tip (v.3) "tap" + tap "touch lightly." Perhaps influenced by tit (n.2).

blow for blow

 

tit (n.2)

1540s, a word used for any small animal or object (as in compound forms such as titmouse, tomtit, etc.); also used of small horses. Similar words in related senses are found in Scandinavian (Icelandic tittr, Norwegian tita "a little bird"), but the connection and origin are obscure; perhaps, as OED suggests, the word is merely suggestive of something small. Used figuratively of persons after 1734, but earlier for "a girl or young woman" (1590s), often in deprecatory sense of "a hussy, minx."

 O.K.

Tit for tat.