trade paint

English

Etymology

When a car or similar vehicle bumps into or scrapes another car, some of the paint may come off.

Verb

trade paint (third-person singular simple present trades paint, present participle trading paint, simple past and past participle traded paint)

1. make physical contact between two motorized vehicles while driving
   • 1971, Hot Rod, volume 24, Trend, page 38:

     Petty kept his place at the the^[sic] pack, and Allison traded paint with Isaac.

   • 1997, Leila Hadley, A Journey with Elsa Cloud, Books & Company/Turtle Point, →ISBN, page 500:

     Then the bus is gone, juddering past us by such a narrow margin I feel we have “traded paint,” as Robert would have said.

   • 1998, Shaun Assael, Wide Open: Days and Nights on the NASCAR Tour, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 301:

     John Andretti was in front of Sterling, who cared no more for John than Bobby did. How long before they traded paint?

   • 2001, Triumph, Dale Earnhardt: Remembering the Intimidator, Triumph Books, →ISBN, page 37:

     He and friend Jeff Gordon "traded paint" at one point during the race. And then there were several instances when The Intimidator nudged rookies Ron Hornaday and Kurt Busch.

   • 2005, Road & Track - Volume 56, CBS Publications, page 160:

     Not since the 1970s when the best drivers from America traded paint with the elite of Europe have we seen a more remarkable display of driving.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see trade,‎ paint.