good horsetrade
- noun
:
buen trato
- That was a good horsetrade—you got a promotion and the company filled a vital role.
Examples
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Both companies came away satisfied after negotiating a good horsetrade over the merger.
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We made a good horsetrade on that car!
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It took hours of discussion, but they eventually made a good horsetrade that benefitted everyone.
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A good horsetrade can benefit both parties involved.
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After hours of negotiations, they reached a good horsetrade that satisfied both sides.
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They were pleased with the good horsetrade they achieved, as it met everyone's needs.
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The manager considered their latest agreement a good horsetrade that would help both teams.
Synonyms
3
5.2
Tough negotiation where both sides give up things to reach a deal
2
3.7
Fair and honest treatment of people in a situation or agreement
A swap of horses between people who bargain for the best deal
Antonyms
How Beneficial
- Informal
26
3.7
- Literature
7
6.1
10
2.8
∞
1.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
good + horsetrade
The element 'trade' clearly signals an exchange so a learner who knows 'horse' + 'trade' may guess a literal transaction involving horses, but the attested sense 'a fair or shrewd bargain' is a generalized/figurative extension rather than a straightforward composition. The term is relatively rare and idiomatic, so its full meaning is not reliably predictable from the parts without prior exposure.
Etymology
Good horsetrade may come from long ago when people literally swapped a horse as part of a trade, checking the animal so both sides left happy. That's why good horsetrade now means a fair, 'mutually beneficial' deal.