a bone of contention

Related to a bone of contention: merit, quarrel, quip, abide, sullen

a bone of contention

An unresolved problem, dispute, or disagreement. Jerry leaving his dirty dishes in the sink for days became a bone of contention between him and his roommate.
See also: bone, contention, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

bone of contention

Fig. the subject or point of an argument; an unsettled point of disagreement. We've fought for so long that we've forgotten what the bone of contention is. The question of a fence between the houses has become quite a bone of contention.
See also: bone, contention, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

bone of contention

Main issue of a disagreement; something to quarrel about. For example, Grandfather's will was a bone of contention for the whole family. This expression alludes to two dogs fighting (contending) over a single bone. In slightly different guise, bone of dissension, it was used figuratively in the 16th century and took its present form in the early 1700s.
See also: bone, contention, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

a bone of contention

COMMON A bone of contention is an issue that people are arguing about. Both players were lectured severely by the referee, but the real bone of contention was the injury to Montgomery. Pay, of course, is not the only bone of contention. Note: The image here is of two dogs fighting over a bone.
See also: bone, contention, of
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a bone of contention

a subject or issue over which there is continuing disagreement.
The idea is of a bone thrown into the midst of a number of dogs and causing a fight between them.
See also: bone, contention, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a bone of conˈtention

a matter about which there is a lot of disagreement: The interpretation of this painting has long been a bone of contention among art historians.
See also: bone, contention, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

bone of contention

The subject of a dispute.
See also: bone, contention, of
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
See also:
  • bone of contention
  • contention
  • a difference of opinion
  • (there is) no problem with that
  • bone of contention, the
  • in dispute
  • have a beef with (someone or something)
  • hold out an olive branch
  • hold out an olive branch (to someone)
  • get square with (one)
References in periodicals archive
Bangalore, March 21 (ANI): A statue of one- time world famous comedian Charlie Chaplin has become a bone of contention between artistes and radical hindu activists in Karnataka.
Charlie Chaplin statue stirs controversy in K'taka
Karine's work is a bone of contention with the town council, which is threatening to withdraw funding if ARAVOH continues with it.
On the frontiers of a needy world: like most western Europe countries, Switzerland is seeing a rise in asylum applications. Mary Lean finds out how the Swiss are responding.
"This has been a bone of contention among all of us as we've talked over the past several months."
Kansas GOP Voters Remove Creationists From School Board
The company's board voted to remove artistic director Ron Protas, whose presence has been a bone of contention almost since he first began working with Graham and her company in the 1970s.
The High Cost of Conflict
Jerusalem remains a bone of contention. Not only does Israel claim all of Jerusalem as its capital, but the Israelis continue to squeeze the Palestinians out of the Old Quarter in East Jerusalem.
The Pope's Middle-East pilgrimage (Vatican)
Birstein and his colleagues raise a bone of contention by arguing that high demand has prompted unscrupulous suppliers to mix eggs of inferior species with those of finer caviar.
DNA fingerprinting to track caviar