horse trading
Back-and-forth negotiation
Horse trading is hard bargaining and shrewd negotiation, especially involving give-and-take compromises.
The term comes from the reputation of horse dealers for tough, sometimes deceptive dealing.
It appears most often in political contexts: The bill passed after considerable horse trading between factions.
The verb is horse-trade: They horse-traded for weeks before reaching an agreement.
Negotiating a lower price
- bargainingNegotiating mutually acceptable terms
- wheeling and dealingAggressive commercial negotiation
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
- concessionYielding a point
deal-making · quid pro quo · trade-off · back-and-forth · give-and-take · barter · dickering · brokering
Exchange of goods/money
- swapExchange one for another
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- barterDirect goods-for-goods exchange
- auctionCompetitive public sale
bid · tender · merchandising · marketplace · dealership · arbitrage · broker · commodities
Trading political support mutually
- pork-barrelSelf-serving legislative spending
- earmarkDesignate for specific purpose
- coalition-buildingForming multi-party alliances
- backroom dealsSecret unofficial negotiations
lobbying · caucus · partisanship · bloc · amendment · whip · filibuster · reconciliation
haggling
Negotiating a lower price
- bargainingNegotiating mutually acceptable terms
- wheeling and dealingAggressive commercial negotiation
- compromiseAgreement through mutual sacrifice
concession · deal-making · quid pro quo · trade-off · back-and-forth · give-and-take · barter · dickering · brokering · mediation
transaction
Exchange of goods/money
- swapExchange one for another
- exchangeMutual giving and receiving
- barterDirect goods-for-goods exchange
auction · bid · tender · merchandising · marketplace · dealership · arbitrage · broker · commodities · wholesale
logrolling
Trading political support mutually
- pork-barrelSelf-serving legislative spending
- earmarkDesignate for specific purpose
- coalition-buildingForming multi-party alliances
backroom deals · lobbying · caucus · partisanship · bloc · amendment · whip · filibuster · reconciliation · cloture
- negotiationbargaining, bargain, negotiate, mediation, compromise
- exchangesswap, swapping, barter, bartering, exchange rate
- Horse Idiomsworkhorse, horseplay, horsing around, one-trick pony, pony up
- Congresssenator, representative, senators, House, bill
- political dealsaccord, compromise, pact, treaty, bargaining
- political tacticscampaigning, gerrymandering, filibuster, campaigns, voter suppression