scratch someone's back

scratch someone's back idiom
Do someone a favor in hopes that a favor will be returned. For example, I don't mind driving this time—she's scratched my back plenty of times. It also is put as you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, as in If you do the laundry I'll do the cooking—you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. This idiom was first recorded in 1704.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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