tug-of-war
15
3.2
- noun
- /ˈtʌɡ əv ˈwɔr/
- Informal
:
tira y afloja
- The community held a tug-of-war over the future of the park, as some wanted to expand it while others wanted to build a new school.
It just feels like this, this tug of war, this constant state of uncertainty.
- It just feels like this, this tug of war, this constant state of uncertainty.
- But this is going, it's this weird tug of war.
- They're just this this pawn in this big tug of war between the US and Russia.
- And now as they take over more and more parts of reality, parts of society, there is a kind of tug of war of who would be forced to adapt to whom.
- Can I beat her in this like tug of war of our professional ability to like persevere and, you know, dominate and whatnot.
- We can just drop that rope, that tug of war rope that we have with our body.
- And the plan for, OK, when this gets hot and, and you know, it's tug of war sort of time in the, in the heat of the game, they're not worried about the scoreboard.
- And that's probably historically been the tug of war all the way to Reagan, maybe Bush.
Examples
-
Consequently, it is likely that the tug-of-war of option (c) in the Egyptian case will continue.
Academic text (1994) -
It just feels like this, this tug of war, this constant state of uncertainty.
-
Then it plays tug-of-war with the clothes when we try to take them back.
Blog text (1) -
And the individual is caught in the middle of this gigantic tug-of-war.
Fiction book (2002) -
For example, they often play tug-of-war over bones or scraps of antelope skin.
Academic text (1998) -
The first is a tug-of-war between Ambassador Smith and the State Department over the resumption of arms shipments.
Academic text (1994) -
The Castro dictatorship has been forced into a tense tug-of-war with the internal pro-democracy movement.
Academic text (2006) -
She'd throw a tennis ball for him to retrieve; they'd play tug-of-war with an old towel tied in knots.
Fiction book (1997) -
During the negotiations, there was a tug-of-war between the two companies over the terms of the merger.
-
The students engaged in a friendly tug-of-war during the field day, showcasing their strength and teamwork.
Synonyms
∞
2.4
A competition between people or groups to win something
514
2.7
A violent fight between armed groups in a war
290
2.9
A serious fight between groups to gain control
105
3.2
A short conflict between people or groups
102
2.8
Competition between people or groups who try to be more successful for the same goal
101
4.3
A final meeting where two sides face each other to settle a dispute
82
5.0
Groups or companies compete strongly to gain power
38
5.5
A contest between two skilled opponents, for example two teams or candidates
21
5.7
A competition between people for something like a prize or job
16
6.7
A long heated argument about a specific issue
14
4.8
A short, rough fight that is noisy or confused
11
6.5
A fight between groups for control of an area
4
2.0
A game where two teams pull a rope to drag the other team across a line
3
3.7
A strong struggle between people to get the same job or prize
2
7.8
A contest using pressure and fear to weaken the other side without physical fighting
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Tug-of-war uses the same idea: tug ('to pull') plus war ('battle'), which gives the image of two sides pulling against each other. That's why we use the phrase for a hard struggle between people or groups over power or a decision.