Fencing. [F. tac-au-tac, lit. clash for clash, f. tac echoic word.] In tac-au-tac riposte, the return stroke after parrying with opposition: see quot. 1889 and RIPOSTE sb. 1.
[1889. Pollock, etc., Fencing (Badm. Libr.), 75. [The riposte] may be delivered in two ways:… [secondly], quitting the steel after a clean, smart parry…. This is called … the riposte du tac-au-tac.]
1907. Daily Chron., 20 Nov., 8/2. The retort was in the nature of the tac-au-tac riposte beloved of the skilled swordsman.
