If you fight fire with fire in a conflict or a contest, you use the same methods or "weapons" as your opponent.
For example:
* The companies we compete against started spending a lot on advertising, so we had to fight fire with fire and also spend a lot in order to keep our market share.
* If someone attacks me by bringing up problems I had in the past, I'll fight fire with fire and do the same by finding out things about their past.
Origin: Probably related to the fact that forest fires are often fought by using a controlled fire to burn off an area in the path of the fire. This starves it of material to burn, and makes it easier to put out.
If you fight fire with fire in a conflict or a contest, you use the same methods or "weapons" as your opponent.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
* The companies we compete against started spending a lot on advertising, so we had to fight fire with fire and also spend a lot in order to keep our market share.
* If someone attacks me by bringing up problems I had in the past, I'll fight fire with fire and do the same by finding out things about their past.
Origin: Probably related to the fact that forest fires are often fought by using a controlled fire to burn off an area in the path of the fire. This starves it of material to burn, and makes it easier to put out.