Noun
A scratch on the back.
- Examples
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Several Colorado papers have reproduced the substance of our articles on silver, and we thank them for their backscratches.
Backscratches keep improving but the itch increases.
More examples (2)
I had to admit he had nice fingernails and a backscratch would have felt just fine.
Series of clotheslines no-sold, so Haku tries backscratches, and, interestingly, that finally works.
Verb
To scratch one's or another's back.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
That thought appeared to discompose her greatly, though Jasper made light of it by rapidly back-scratching with his hind legs and giving a short stern bark, just to assure her that strangers would be rushed off the property on sight.
He enjoyed being hugged, backscratched, and tickled and sat quietly next to the examiner after testing while a parental interview was conducted.
So it is to the mutual advantage of social primates to backscratch for each other.
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[…] primate's inclination to backscratch and delouse rather than venture into the dangerous country beyond familiar tramping grounds.
To engage in a reciprocal beneficial action.
Usage- Slang
- Examples
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It was backscratched into existence, cost nearly a billion pounds, and now they are wondering why they let it happen.
The fount of social problems, he argues, is that human morality grew out of the natural principles of tit-for-tat and mutual backscratching.
More examples (1)
Whether referred to as bargaining, logrolling, or backscratching, the effect is the same: "you support me, I'll support you."