A bone of contention is an issue that people keep arguing about and can't agree on. Picture two dogs and one bone, and the image explains itself. It names the subject of the dispute, not the quarrel: The car park remains a bone of contention between the neighbours. It's a little formal, so it suits news reports and essays.
When would you say a bone of contention?
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be / remain a bone of contention; a bone of contention between + people
- The location of the entrance remains a bone of contention between the neighbours.
- Cleaning duties became the main bone of contention in the shared house.
- Both teams support the exhibition; the opening date is the only bone of contention.
What changed
First versionThe parking spaces are a bone of argument between the two shops.
RevisionThe parking spaces are a bone of contention between the two shops.
Argument is the everyday word for a dispute, so a bone of argument looks like a sensible guess. But the idiom is fixed with the more formal contention, which means disagreement or dispute. Replacing argument with contention makes the expression recognisable.
An argument is the quarrel itself, or a reason you give: We had an argument. A bone of contention is what people quarrel about: Money was always a bone of contention. Have a bone to pick with someone is different: you have a complaint against one particular person.
Your turn
Complete the idiom for an issue people argue about: a bone of ___.
Show the answer
contention — The fixed expression is a bone of contention. Argument is close in meaning, but it isn't used in this idiom.
Describe an issue that your family or your colleagues can never agree on.
Everyone wanted a new garden, but the position of the gate remained a bone of contention.
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