you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It’s not: ‘You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’, more: ‘I like this thing, I’ll share it.’
From The Guardian
The donations came to light after two parents with students in district schools — Keisha Chase and Yolanda Rogers — wrote this week to the State Ethics Commission to complain about alleged ethics violations, saying “the culture of pay to play, kickbacks, you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours must end if we are ever going to provide a quality education for our children.”
From Washington Post
“There’s an implicit agreement between the corporations and the government—you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” said Lee Ji-soo, a lawyer and a member of the main opposition party.
To those in the West, where you can secure a deal through formal meetings even if you don't know someone, this "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" way of doing business can seem improper.
From BBC
Essentially it is about the deal done between ourselves and our domestic animals — a "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" kind of a deal.
From The Guardian
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.