grand bargain
Sweeping mutual agreement
A grand bargain is a comprehensive agreement between opposing parties that resolves multiple contentious issues at once, typically requiring significant concessions from all sides.
The term appears most often in political contexts—budget negotiations, diplomatic settlements, legislative deals: Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a grand bargain on entitlement reform.
The modifier grand signals both the scope of what's being negotiated and the difficulty of achieving it.
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- give and takeMutual concession between parties
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
- dealAgreement or distribution
- bipartisanInvolving both major parties
concession · olive branch · treaty · agreement · entitlement · deficit · debt ceiling · fiscal cliff · Congress · handshake · smoke-filled room · tradeoff · landmark · historic · budget · reform · breakthrough · leverage
- political dealsaccord, compromise, pact, treaty, bipartisan bill
- compromisecompromise, middle ground, meet halfway, give and take, give-and-take
- centrismmoderates, moderation, middle ground, compromise, bipartisanship
grand bargainhalf-measure
Inadequate partial action
band-aid solution · quick fix · tweak · tweaking · tinkering
grand bargaingentleman's agreement
Informal pact based on trust
tacit understanding · backroom deal · side deal · quid pro quo
grand, bargain, grander, grandest, grandly, grandeur, grandness, grandiose, grandiosity