- Home
- Idioms
- bone of contention
bone of contention
bone of contention
Fig. the subject or point of an argument; an unsettled point of disagreement. We've fought for so long that we've forgotten what the bone of contention is. The question of a fence between the houses has become quite a bone of contention.
bone of contention
Main issue of a disagreement; something to quarrel about. For example, Grandfather's will was a bone of contention for the whole family. This expression alludes to two dogs fighting (contending) over a single bone. In slightly different guise, bone of dissension, it was used figuratively in the 16th century and took its present form in the early 1700s.
bone of contention
The subject of a dispute.
Common Names:
Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
Hardwin | | - | Ancient Germanic |
Wilkie | | WIL-kee | English |
Eos | | e-aws (Ancient Greek), EE-aws (English) | Greek Mythology |
Etheldreda | | - | Medieval English |
Mattia | | maht-TEE-ah | Italian |
Hinds | | [haindz] | |