{"id":111,"date":"2021-10-12T19:12:33","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T19:12:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=111"},"modified":"2021-10-12T19:13:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T19:13:17","slug":"bone-of-contention-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/bone-of-contention-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Bone of Contention - Meaning, Usage and Origin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you arguing with someone over an ideology or topic? If you have a <strong>deep-seated argument<\/strong>, and <u>neither of you can seem to agree to terms on the matter or outcome<\/u>, you might have a \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" with each other.<\/p>\n<p>In this saying, the \"<em>bone<\/em>\" refers to a <u>topic or ideology<\/u>, and \"<em>contention<\/em>\" refers <u>to conflicting viewpoints<\/u> on the subject. Often, a \"bone of contention\" will lead to a heated argument or fight as neither party refuses to budge on their position.<\/p>\n<p>Lets' unpack everything you need to know about the history and use of this idiom in modern language.<\/p>\n<h2>Bone of Contention \u2013 Idiom Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>The meaning of \"bone of contention\" refers to a subject where two or more <u>parties might not see the same side as the other<\/u>, refusing to give up their position on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>The idiom refers to an <strong>unpleasant situation<\/strong>, and it could result in <strong>severe arguments<\/strong> that <strong>sever relationships<\/strong> between the parties involved in the dispute.<\/p>\n<h2>Bone of Contention \u2013 Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>There are several examples of using the idiom \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" in a sentence.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Our political ideologies are a <em>bone of contention<\/em> between us.<\/li>\n<li>Our thoughts on the subject are a <em>bone of contention<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>We seem to have a <em>bone of contention<\/em> on the subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All three examples refer to people <strong><u>refusing to give up their side of the argument<\/u><\/strong>, and they fail to see it from the other side.<\/p>\n<p>The parties are stubborn, and they <u>refuse to shift their thought or even consider the argument from the other person's point of view<\/u>.<\/p>\n<h2>Bone of Contention \u2013 Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The idiom \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" <u>originates in the 1700s<\/u>, where two dogs would fight over a bone, with neither animal conceding to the other's need for food.<\/p>\n<p>Both dogs consider they have a right to the bone, and neither would back down on their efforts to wrest it from the other.<\/p>\n<p>Today, a \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" can refer to many topics. For example, a family may have a <strong>deep-seated argument<\/strong> over the rights to their father's estate.<\/p>\n<p>Or, they could have conflicting political ideologies with another person over a specific topic, <u>resulting in a heated argument<\/u> with neither side willing to consider the other viewpoint on the subject matter.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"???? Contentious - Bone of Contention - Contentious Meaning - Bone of Contention Examples - GRE 3500\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZedGjPjOnVQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to \"Bone of Contention\"<\/h2>\n<p>Here are some <strong>similar phrases and synonyms<\/strong> to \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>.\"<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\"Bone to pick.\" \u2013 In reference to adversely discussing an inflammatory topic with someone.<\/li>\n<li>\"Grounds for war.\" \u2013 In reference to two parties exhibiting bellicose behavior.<\/li>\n<li>\"Apple of Discord.\" \u2013 Where the \"apple\" refers to the \"bone.\"<\/li>\n<li>\"Point in question.\" \u2013 Referring to the disagreeable subject matter as the point or \"bone.\"<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to \"Bone of Contention\"<\/h2>\n<p>If you're looking for phrases opposite of \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>,\" you can use the following phrases in a conversation.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We managed to reach a consensus on the subject.<\/li>\n<li>We agree with each other.<\/li>\n<li>We see each other's points of view.<\/li>\n<li>We understand each other's arguments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<p>A bone of contention is <strong>not a common phrase in modern language<\/strong>, but many people will use it when discussing the parties' actions to others.<\/p>\n<p>For example, \"the family have a <em>bone of contention<\/em> over the rights to the land mentioned in the will.\"<\/p>\n<p>The most common use of the phrase is when referring to the following.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An argument.<\/li>\n<li>A discord between two parties.<\/li>\n<li>You are describing behavior between two or more parties over a specific topic or ideology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say \"Bone of Contention\" Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>Since \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" is not a popular idiom in conversation, many people use it incorrectly.<\/p>\n<p>Having a bone of contention with someone means that you are very upset with them. Generally, it describes an argument where the <u>parties may split ties<\/u> from one another or <u>escalate the situation<\/u> to verbal or physical violence.<\/p>\n<p>The phrase is <strong>not suitable to describe a minor argument or disagreement<\/strong> with another party. Here are a few examples of how not to use <em>bone of contention<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>My fianc\u00e9 and I have a bone of contention about where to spend our honeymoon.<\/li>\n<li>My brother and I have a bone of contention over who gets the TV remote.<\/li>\n<li>My friend and I have a bone of contention over which movie to watch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase \"Bone of Contention\"<\/h2>\n<p>There are <u>several ways<\/u> people can use the idiom \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" in a sentence when describing behavior between two or more parties.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some further use examples for using \"<em>bone of contention<\/em>\" in a sentence.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>These politicians seem to have a bone of contention on the issue.<\/li>\n<li>China and Taiwan have a bone of contention over the sovereign right of the Taiwanese nation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you arguing with someone over an ideology or topic? If you have a deep-seated argument, and neither of you can seem to agree to terms on the matter or outcome, you might have a \"bone of contention\" with each other. In this saying, the \"bone\" refers to a topic or ideology, and \"contention\" refers [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}