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horse trading

American  

noun

  1. the act or fact of conducting a shrewd exchange or engaging in a horse trade; bargaining.

horse trading British  

noun

  1. hard bargaining to obtain equal concessions by both sides in a dispute

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
horse trading Idioms  

  1. Negotiation marked by hard bargaining and shrewd exchange. For example, The restaurant owner is famous for his horse trading; he's just exchanged a month of free dinners for a month of free television commercials. This expression alludes to the notorious shrewdness of horse traders, who literally bought and sold horses. [c. 1820]

Etymology

Origin of horse trading

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Horse trading after the Commission put forward its original sanctions document last week has delayed approval and the text has already been revised once to try to win over sceptics.

From Reuters • May 9, 2022

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.