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trade-last

American  
[treyd-last, -lahst] / ˈtreɪdˌlæst, -ˌlɑst /

noun

  1. Informal Older Use. a compliment that one has heard and that one offers to tell the person so complimented under the condition that that person will first report a compliment made about oneself. T.L.

trade-last British  

noun

  1. informal a compliment that one has heard about someone, which one offers to tell to that person in exchange for a compliment heard about oneself

"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

Etymology

Origin of trade-last

An Americanism dating back to 1890–95

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.

"Besides," put in Allison, "Miss Bina McCannister said it was common and silly to play trade-last."

From The Little Colonel at Boarding-School by Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows)

"I have a trade-last for you, Ida," she said.

From The Little Colonel at Boarding-School by Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows)

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.

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