Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A lively or disputatious discussion.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A verbal argument.
- verb To
argue .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a verbal dispute; a wrangling argument
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Why call it “fighting” when you can call it “handbags,” or “argy-bargy?”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Soccerphiles & Soccerphobes, Lay Down Your Arms! 2010
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But – by the same token – it is not the right of police officers to assault the public, and then turn around and say ‘well, it was a demonstration, there was some argy-bargy over there at this other incident, so we have the right to use any means necessary on any MOP we happen to come across.’
7/7 Bombs – Police To Blame SHOCK! « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2010
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The gamesmanship — some call it “argy-bargy” — slowed the pace enough so that Mourey joined up from the next chase group.
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Traditionally, an eyepatch signifies wisdom – Odin sacrificed an eye at the Well of Mimir in exchange for knowledge – though not in Thor, where he's played by Anthony Hopkins, who loses his in an argy-bargy with the Frost Giants.
Anne Billson – Cutter's Way and the great tradition of the film eyepatch 2011
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A tussle is always fun and it seems as though this tussle, this argy-bargy about how we treat each other, the terms that we use, how we acknowledge or don't the differences between us, is one that is of the moment and, for this moment, up for grabs.
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Why call it “fighting” when you can call it “handbags,” or “argy-bargy?”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Soccerphiles & Soccerphobes, Lay Down Your Arms! 2010
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Traditionally, an eyepatch signifies wisdom – Odin sacrificed an eye at the Well of Mimir in exchange for knowledge – though not in Thor, where he's played by Anthony Hopkins, who loses his in an argy-bargy with the Frost Giants.
Anne Billson – Cutter's Way and the great tradition of the film eyepatch 2011
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Haw somehow managed to hold on to his stool and tent in the middle of the argy-bargy.
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Haw somehow managed to hold on to his stool and tent in the middle of the argy-bargy.
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Sounds like a bunch of argy-bargy and chest beating just to make some people feel self-important.
Business chiefs launch attack on parking tax « Stephen Rees's blog 2010
bilby commented on the word argy-bargy
"Underneath the political argy-bargy, the policies are the same. The policy priority on both sides is to look after the interests of the largest polluters in the interest of protecting jobs by not undermining the competitiveness of the coal, aluminium and other big polluting industries against their competitors overseas."
- Kenneth Davidson, Rudd Government an obedient servant of the big polluters, theage.com.au, 28 September 2009.
September 28, 2009
sionnach commented on the word argy-bargy
Isn't this how the British refer to the Falklands war, (oops, I mean 'la guerra de las Malvinas')?
September 28, 2009
qms commented on the word argy-bargy
The few times I have heard this term used have mostly been while watching television coverage of the Tour de France. The venerable announcing team of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen (both Brits) use it to describe the fierce bumping and jostling that goes on during sprint finishes. The definitions provided here all assume its application to verbal contention, but Liggett and Sherwen seem comfortable with it in a physical context.
November 18, 2016
qms commented on the word argy-bargy
The Grant's ranch was tranquil and gracious
But Barbara and Rob disputatious.
To praise argy-bargy
They chose "RG bar G"
To brand their own wide open spaces.
November 18, 2016