it takes two to tango
- idiom
- Informal
:
se necesitan dos
- You can't blame John alone for the argument; it takes two to tango.
Examples
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When a conflict escalates, remember that it takes two to tango—both sides play a part.
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When it comes to a relationship, it takes two to tango.
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Negotiations failed because it takes two to tango, and both companies refused to compromise.
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You can't blame him alone; it takes two to tango.
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Negotiations failed because it takes two to tango, and both companies refused to compromise.
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When a conflict escalates, remember that it takes two to tango—both sides play a part.
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You can't blame John alone for the argument; it takes two to tango.
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning — that an action requires two people and both share responsibility — follows directly from the literal idea that a tango is a two-person dance and from 'it takes two' meaning 'requires two'. This metaphorical extension is highly predictable and has cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
It takes two to tango comes from the tango dance, which must be done by two people who move together and depend on each other. So the saying means that 'both people share responsibility' and you need two people for the situation to happen.