Taking things to the absolute extreme in order to avoid a series of small escalations. This can be a way of
winning a fight you might not otherwise win, but has the potential to destroy both people involved.
Examples:
A kid tells you your hat is
ugly so you tell him Santa isn't real
Your friend makes a
joke about the way you mispronounce things and embarrasses you in-front of others, so you tell her that her boyfriend is cheating on her.