in-and-in

American  

[in-uhnd-in, -uhn-] / ˈɪn əndˈɪn, -ən- /

adverb

1. repeatedly within the same family, strain, etc..

   to breed stock in-and-in.

---

in-and-in British  

adjective

1. (of breeding) carried out repeatedly among closely related individuals of the same species to eliminate or intensify certain characteristics

---

Etymology

Origin of in-and-in

First recorded in 1620–30

Example Sentences

"Such in-and-in fore-and-afters that their booms won't stay guyed-out, even after you've been at the pains to use a hawser."

From Miles Wallingford Sequel to "Afloat and Ashore" by Cooper, James Fenimore

He produced the famous Sebright Bantams by complicated crosses, and by breeding in-and-in; and since his time there has been much close interbreeding with these Bantams; and they are now notoriously bad breeders.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2) by Darwin, Charles

Their isolation from the great currents of the world's life acts on them intellectually and spiritually as the process of in-and-in breeding does upon animals: it intensifies their peculiarities and defects.

From Unitarianism in America by Cooke, George Willis

He bred in-and-in for thirty-six generations, destroying the weakly, and thus obtained finer animals than the first pair.

From Degeneracy Its Causes, Signs and Results by Talbot, Eugene S.

A friend of mine has bred in-and-in a herd of Jersey cattle, as close as a father to his progeny, for five generations, and with apparently good results.

From Insanity Its Causes and Prevention by Stearns, Henry Putnam