to lock horns
5
5.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
chocar
- In the past, they’d repeatedly locked horns over Justice Department policy and spending priorities.
- two lock horns
I know you're half American informer, but for God's sake, we locked horns.
- I know you're half American informer, but for God's sake, we locked horns.
- Tattersail recalled that the Empire had locked horns with the moon's mysterious Lord once before, in the days of the Emperor.
Examples
-
That night he said to one of the other men, "Well, I had to lock horns with Martha today."
Fiction book (1996) -
We rarely disagree creatively, but occasionally we do, so we end up locking horns, as we say.
Blog text (1) -
If people want to lock horns over an issue, then by all means let them do it.
Blog text (29) -
Blood promised himself that the next time they locked horns, he would be better prepared.
Fiction book (1995) -
Ready to lock horns with the scum of the universe?
-
Bulldog, me and you gonna lock horns again one of these days.
-
When the two major powers lock horns, the implications for Taiwan are profound.
Academic text (2014) -
They frequently lock horns, so to speak, with the education system when they work to "make the school staff understand and address his physical needs..."
Academic text (1996) -
From the moment Fidel Castro took power and immediately locked horns with Washington more than 50 years ago, the average Cuban learned to keep one eye trained north.
Blog text (3) -
Whenever they disagreed on a project, the two colleagues would lock horns in a heated argument.
Synonyms
46
3.1
To disagree strongly with another person or group
35
2.6
To argue angrily with someone about small things
23
7.0
People argue or fight angrily with each other
13
6.3
To argue strongly with each other
11
6.9
Talk angrily to someone because of a disagreement
6
6.8
To argue loudly for a long time
5
6.8
Argue strongly with someone, often in public
4
7.3
Not agreeing with someone and often angry about it
3
7.3
To take part in a fight or argument
2
2.8
Argue with someone and feel angry or upset afterward
1
8.8
To become suddenly aggressive and ready to fight back
Antonyms
How Heated
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes the literal image of animals 'locking horns' to fight, so a learner who knows 'lock' and 'horns' can infer a sense of physical confrontation and, by extension, conflict. However, the metaphorical extension to verbal/argumentative disputes and its idiomatic, non-literal use may not be fully predictable without prior exposure, making it only partially transparent.
Etymology
The phrase lock horns may come from male animals such as deer, goats, or bulls that fight by literally locking their horns together and pushing until one gives up. So today lock horns means to 'argue' or 'be in a strong conflict'.