fight fire with fire

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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.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Words nearby fight fire with fire

fight back, fighter, fighter-bomber, fighter-interceptor, fighter pilot, fight fire with fire, fighting, fighting chair, fighting chance, fighting cock, fighting fish

How to use fight fire with fire in a sentence

But what is there more irresponsible than playing with the fire of an imagined civil war in the France of today?
Houellebecq’s Incendiary Novel Imagines France With a Muslim President|Pierre Assouline|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Gay marriage was the hot-button fight on the left and right.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Iraq may have been an irregular fight, but it had major moments.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War|Nancy A. Youssef|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The cameraman was reporting on the factory catching fire when the inevitable happened.
Fireworks Factory Explodes in Colorful Burst|The Daily Beast Video|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The U.S. military is finally starting to train Iraqi troops to fight ISIS in restive Anbar province.
Pentagon Insider on New Plan to Fight ISIS: ‘Of Course It’s Not Enough’|Nancy A. Youssef|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
"A camp-fire would hardly flash and die out like that, Sarge," he answered thoughtfully.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
She got up and stood in front of the fire, having her hand on the chimney-piece and looking down at the blaze.
Confidence|Henry James
It was more like the boarding of a ship than any land fight I had ever seen or imagined.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The fire had been heaped over with earth—to screen it from prying eyes, I suppose, while the good work went on.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
But, as the keel of the boats touched bottom, each boat-load dashed into the water and then into the enemy's fire.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton