backscratching

English

Verb

backscratching

1. present participle and gerund of backscratch

Noun

backscratching (countable and uncountable, plural backscratchings)

1. The act or habit of engaging in a reciprocal beneficial action.

   Near-synonym: logrolling

   She babysits the kids, and we mow her lawn. A little backscratching never hurt anybody!

   1. (often) Such behavior that is corrupt.

      You have to "tip" the inspector if you want a license in this town. Too much backscratching around here!

      They discovered a citation ring: a group of researchers citing one another inordinately. This backscratching aimed to inflate their article-level metrics and author-level metrics.

Related terms

• backscratcher
• scratch someone's back
• you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

See also

• green handshake
• pay-to-play
• quid pro quo