fight fire with fire
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fight fire with fire
To retaliate with the same methods that one has had to endure. Come on, it's time to fight fire with fire and start a nasty rumor about Tiffany, like she did to you.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
Fight fire with fire.
Prov. Use against your opponent the same methods he or she is using against you. After her opponent had spent several weeks slandering her, the candidate decided to fight fire with fire. When evangelists would come to our house and try to convert us, Mother would fight fire with fire and try to convert them to her religion.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
fight fire with fire
Combat an evil or negative circumstances by reacting in kind. For example, When the opposition began a smear campaign, we decided to fight fire with fire. Although ancient writers from Plato to Erasmus cautioned that one should not add fire to fire, this warning is not incorporated in the idiom, which was first recorded in Shakespeare's Coriolanus.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fight fire with fire
If you fight fire with fire, you attack or criticize someone with force after they attack or criticize you with force. The military were not afraid of fighting fire with fire. Note: Other verbs such as meet or match are sometimes used instead of fight. Sometimes you just have to meet fire with fire.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
fight fire with fire
use the weapons or tactics of your enemy or opponent, even if you find them distasteful. 1998 New Scientist Many opponents of biotechnology might say that they are simply fighting fire with fire. After all, the biotechnology industry is not averse to misquoting people when it suits them.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
fight ˌfire with ˈfire
use similar methods in a fight or an argument to those your opponent is using: The only way we can win this match is to fight fire with fire.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
fight fire with fire
To combat one evil or one set of negative circumstances by reacting in kind.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fight fire with fire
Counter an evil or adversity with equal force. The Greek philosopher Plato counseled just the opposite—don’t add fire to fire— and was quoted by numerous subsequent writers, from Plutarch to Erasmus. Nevertheless, the idea that fire is put out by fire prevailed. “The only way I know how to fight fire is with fire,” wrote Stewart Sterling (Down among the Dead Men, 1943).
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer