give and take is fair play
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Compromise and mutual concession are necessary for a fair and successful relationship
Literally: exchanging and receiving is just sportsmanship
Examples
In business, give and take is fair play if you want to build strong partnerships
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed on English Wikiquote “English proverbs” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31). Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “give and take is fair play” mean?
Compromise and mutual concession are necessary for a fair and successful relationship Literally: exchanging and receiving is just sportsmanship
Is “give and take is fair play” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.