Trending: ‘quid pro quo’

Quid pro quo was among our top lookups on September 25th, 2019, amidst continued speculation as to whether President Trump had quidded for some quo in a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that the transcript of President Trump's call with Ukraine's leader doesn't need to show a "quid pro quo" in withholding military aid in order for the president's actions to be considered wrong.
— Cristina Marcos, The Hill (thehill.com), 24 Sept. 2019

We define quid pro quo as “something given or received for something else,” and "a deal arranging a quid pro quo.” The phrase comes from the New Latin, in which it means “something for something.”

This sense dates to the late 16th century. In its initial use, a now-obsolete sense from the beginning of that century, quid pro quo was used to refer to something obtained from an apothecary, when one medicine was substituted for another. Such substitutions were on occasion accidental, or fraudulent. Soon after its apothecary sense the word took on more a general meaning of substitution. In current use the phrase is most often encountered in legal contexts.

Vpon this promyse an accion lyeth if he mary his doughter and in this case he cane nat discharge the promyse thoughe he thought nat to be bounde therby for it is a good contracte and he maye haue Quid pro quo that is to saye the prefermente of his doughter for his money.
— Christopher Saint German, The fyrst dialogue in Englisshe with newe additions, 1532