apple of discord

apple of discord

Meaning | Synonyms

• something that causes trouble or unhappiness
• anything that causes discord or jealousy
• an object or topic that sows anger, dissent
• a cause of strife, argument or rivalry

Example Sentences

1. The right to host the next Olympic games has become an apple of discord between the two countries.
2. The ancestral property became an apple of discord among the three brothers.
3. The “best employee” award has been an apple of discord among the co-workers for quite some time.
4. The water sharing pact has been the apple of discord between the two states.
5. Why aren't the two of them talking to each other? What is apple of discord there?
6. The two best friends were attracted to the same person, and that became an apple of discord between them.
7. That piece of jewelry was a family heirloom, and it was an apple of discord among the sisters. They were always fighting over who gets to wear it.
8. Sharing credit for their breakthrough work became an apple of discord between the two research students.

Origin

The phrase originated from Greek mythology. The “apple of discord” was a golden apple inscribed “for the fairest” thrown by Eris, goddess of discord, into a banquet she was not invited to. The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, to whom Paris awarded it, setting off a chain of events that led to the Trojan war.

Consequently, “apple of discord” is used to imply the foundation, root, or core, of a quarrel, or a small issue that could lead to a bigger argument.

The earliest publication of the idiom was first recorded around 1640-50s.