apple of discord
1
8.9
- noun
- Literature
:
manzana de la discordia
- Forgive me, but the very name of love is an apple of discord between us.
Examples
-
The disagreement over the new policy became an apple of discord among the committee members.
-
But if it continues this way, it will not create any fruitful result, only an apple of discord for the tournament.
Blog text (31) -
One of the "apples of discord" was the issue of the Ukrainian gas infrastructure that Gazprom wanted to control.
Academic text (2010) -
Her constant criticism of his choices was an apple of discord that strained their friendship.
-
The proposed changes to the club's rules turned into an apple of discord within the community.
Synonyms
10
5.1
A topic that causes strong disagreement between people
4
5.2
A subject that causes disagreement between people
A topic that causes strong arguments and trouble
How Contentious
10
7.5
465
4.9
- Literature
1
8.9
268
1.6
9
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
apple + of + discord
Knowing 'apple' and 'discord' lets a learner guess the phrase relates to disagreement, but the idea that the apple is a specific cause or trigger is metaphorical and rooted in cultural/mythological knowledge (Eris) that B1 learners probably lack. The relation is therefore partially transparent: the components signal a link to conflict, but the idiomatic sense 'an object that causes a dispute' is not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Apple of discord comes from an old Greek story where a goddess named Eris threw a golden apple marked 'to the fairest', and that single apple started a great argument among the goddesses. So, today an apple of discord means 'something that causes disagreement or trouble'.