Idiom
tug of war
Meaning
A dispute between two parties, particularly an entrenched, back-and-forth dispute.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The siblings are in a tug of war over the family house.”
“The two departments are in a constant tug of war for the limited budget.”
“For decades, the city council and local residents have been locked in a bitter tug of war over whether to demolish the historic market or preserve it.”
Examples
simple
“The siblings are in a tug of war over the family house.”
contextual
“The two departments are in a constant tug of war for the limited budget.”
complex
“For decades, the city council and local residents have been locked in a bitter tug of war over whether to demolish the historic market or preserve it.”
Key words
Related idioms
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