one-way street

one-way +‎ street

one-way street (plural one-way streets)

1. A road in which traffic is only allowed to proceed in one direction.
2. (figurative) A course of action that cannot be undone.
3. (figurative) Something that lacks reciprocity.
   • 2006 April 27, Lisa, “Spilling out drops of wine at the Seder”, in soc.culture.jewish.moderated‎ (Usenet):

     Judaism is not about reading your personal experiences into Jewish ritual, waving a wand, and declaring the result "Judaism". Vietnam has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on Torah values. Torah values can, obviously, have a bearing on Vietnam, or on anything else, but it's a one-way street.

   • 2009, Alexander-Stamatios G. Antoniou, Handbook of Managerial Behavior and Occupational Health, page 186:

     Romantic love is not selfless but selfish. Although real love is not altruistic, nor is it narcissistic – a 'me-only', one-way street relationship.

• two-way street