Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Movement back and forth; reciprocating movement.
- noun Debate over an issue; vacillation.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Forward and backward; alternate: as, to-and-fro motion.
- noun A movement or motion forward and backward in alternation.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adverb Alternative spelling of
to and fro . - verb Alternative spelling of
to and fro . - adverb Alternative spelling of
to and fro .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Germain's novel opens with the arresting image of Sabine, a middle-class mother concealing a rug impulsively stolen from the Christmas sales: "Her silhouette large and bell-like, her legs like two clappers which despite their brisk to-and-fro produce no sound".
Hidden Lives by Sylvie Germain, translated by Mike Mitchell – review Alfred Hickling 2010
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Mr. Judd, merging and liquefying light and matter, pulls the world, as if malleable, to-and-fro like taffy.
Rock, Paper, Sculpture Lance Esplund 2011
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In any case, the growth rate to-and-fro is largely an artifact of the Congressional Budget Office, which has admitted there is a "gap in the toolkit" when predicting market-based savings.
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This isn't the language of disagreement, the classic to-and-fro between a restive base and politicians who make compromises.
The Twister of 2010 Peggy Noonan 2010
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Merkel's to-and-fro also recalls Bill Clinton's "triangulation:" Ignore left and right, and sail right through the middle.
Behind Germany's Dithering Josef Joffe 2011
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Romney tries to drop the to-and-fro, showing some bad body language here by turning away from Huntsman and lecturing Wolf Blitzer about the crusty old "listen to the leaders on the ground" line.
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Here's a slightly cleaned up for clarity transcript of how the to-and-fro developed:Romney: Of course you Gingrich stand firm and stand for the truth, but you don't speak for Israel.
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Then there was a painful and agonising to-and-fro over the release of photographs of Bin Laden's corpse.
Osama bin Laden: dead, but still a spectre for the world 2011
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But Schroeder and the Social Democrats are now respected at home, having illustrated leadership that was able to rise above the to-and-fro of political opportunism.
Matt Browne: Can America Emulate Germany's Economic Success? Matt Browne 2012
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Mrs. Merkel's to-and-fro also recalls Bill Clinton's "triangulation": Ignore left and right, and sail right through the middle.
Why Germany Is Leading From Behind Josef Joffe 2011
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