Idioms

bone of contention

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a bone of contention

An unresolved problem, dispute, or disagreement. Jerry leaving his dirty dishes in the sink for days became a bone of contention between him and his roommate. I heard you guys aren't talking. What exactly is the bone of contention here? Curfew became a real bone of contention once the kids started pushing to stay out later than their father and I are comfortable with.
See also: bone, contention, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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.
See also: bone, contention, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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.
See also: bone, contention, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bone of contention

The subject of a dispute.
See also: bone, contention, of
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bone of contention, the

The central point of a dispute. The phrase alludes to two dogs fighting over a single bone, and originally was a bone of dissension (“This became a bone of dissension between these deere friends,” William Lambarde, 1576). The current cliché dates from the early eighteenth century, although the metaphor of dogs fighting over a bone had been transferred to human quarrels long before (“The devil hath cast a bone to set stryfe between you,” John Heywood’s Proverbs, 1562).
See also: bone, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive
A major bone of contention is whether Cosimo's patronage was in some sense "princely," a view she takes great pains to refute.
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Although he returned to inspire his team to an overwhelming win, it is Chelsea's grasp on Wise's playing career that remains the real bone of contention at Stamford Bridge.
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The company's board voted to remove artistic director Ron Protas, whose presence has been a bone of contention almost since he first began working with Graham and her company in the 1970s.
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The massacre, committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, remains a bone of contention between Japan and China.
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It's a bone of contention on which he chomps everywhere.
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On the contrary, the "bone of contention of many Islamist movements is their critique of oppressive social and political reality as well as [a] passive and subdued intellectual environment" (p.53).
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Your last will and testament need not be a bone of contention. You can preserve your wealth for your heirs and protect it from taxation, creditors and unnecessary legal contests by opting for intervivos, or living trusts.
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Some companies have been charged - and rightfully so in some limited cases - with unfair claims processing, or what we call "post-claim underwriting." This continues to be a bone of contention, but it is not nearly as widespread as it once was, thanks to the NAIC model legislation and state adaptations.
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The Deputy Commissioner assured the elders from both sides of resolving the bone of contention between the two sides which so far had claimed over a dozen of innocent lives.
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The appointment of the MD as well as the Board of Directors of the state-run television had been a bone of contention between former information minister Fawad Chaudhry and Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Political affairs Naeemul Haq.
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ISLAMABAD -- Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Gilani has said that Kashmir is the bone of contention between Pakistan and India since the creation of the two countries in 1947.
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The bone of contention immediately could not be ascertained till evening.
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