С-327

СЛОВО ЗА СЛОВО coll Invar adv or indep. clause)

1. \С-327 (разговориться, познакомиться, расспросить и т. п.) (to get to talking) in a gradual, natural manner, with each participant's remarks eliciting a response from the other

(to get to know s.o. , question s.o. etc) in a gradual, natural manner in the course of a conversation: (in past contexts) one word (thing) led to another as the conversation progressed (one got to know s.o. (asked s.o. sth. etc )) little by little (one got to talking with s.o. (convinced s.o. of sth. etc)).

Да, так встретились (дед и запорожец). Слово за слово, долго ли до знакомства? Пошли калякать, калякать так, что дед совсем уже было позабыл про путь свой (Гоголь 5). So they (Grandad and a Dnieper Cossack) met. One word leads to another, it doesn't take long to make friends. They fell to chatting and chatting, so that Grandad quite forgot about his journey (5a).

(Кашкина:) Как это вы вдруг... разговорились? (Шаманов (насмешливо):) Да так, очень просто. Я сделал ей комплимент, она... Да, вот так, слово за слово... (Вампилов 2). (К.:) How come you two suddenly started., talking9 (Sh. (Mockingly):) Oh, it was very simple I paid her a compliment, and she.... And then, one thing led to another (2b).

.Слово за слово, (Пидорка) уговорила старуху идти с собою (Гоголь 5). ...Little by little, she (Pidorka) persuaded the old hag to go home with her (5a). (626 J

2. - (рассориться, разругаться и т. п.) | usu. used with pfv verbs) (to quarrel, have an argument with s.o. etc) with increasing intensity

one word provoked another

one hard (harsh) word brought another one thing led to another (the argument became more heated (one became more brash etc)) with every word.

...Ребров потерял равновесие. Слово за слово — и все, будто только того и ждали, закрутились в эту воронку (Трифонов 1). Не IRebrov) lost his self-control. One word provoked another, and this seemed to be all that was needed for the volcano to erupt (1a).

«Разозлившись на то, что мать и сестра не хотят, по его наветам, со мною рассориться, он (Лужин), слово за слово, начал говорить им непростительные дерзости» (Достоевский 3). 'Angry that my mother and sister did not want to quarrel with me over his calumny, he (Luzhin) became more unpardonably rude to them with every word" (3c).