to do battle
/dˈuː bˈæɾəl/
phraseto engage in a fight or argument
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Examples
1. In Mysterious Island (1961), castaways do battle with a gigantic crab and a huge bird.
2. The first was that we felt like we had to do battle with two forces out there, and Erik has talked about them.
3. Three claimants to the title quickly rise, and prepare to do battle over who would wear the crown.
4. Then, when they did did do battle, it was the bloodiest day of Napoleon’s career.
5. By August 29th, he and his army were positioned to do battle at Manassas, Virginia, where he defeated the Union army for a second time before invading Maryland.
to downvote
/ˈdaʊnˈvoʊt/
verbto show one's disagreement or disapproval of an online post or comment by clicking on a specific icon
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Examples
1. But if any of those trolls should show up in our comment section, I leave it to our thoughtful and vigilant regular commenters to swiftly downvote them, because we do not have time for that on this channel.
downvote
/ˈdaʊnˈvoʊt/
nounthe action of showing one's disagreement or disapproval of an online post or comment by clicking on a specific icon
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Examples
1. But if any of those trolls should show up in our comment section, I leave it to our thoughtful and vigilant regular commenters to swiftly downvote them, because we do not have time for that on this channel.
to duke it out
/dˈuːk ɪt ˈaʊt/
phraseto argue or fight until a disagreement is resolved
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Examples
1. Then the two actors continued to duke it out in the middle of the street.
2. Athena then chases Crystal up the stairs, where they duke it out some more.
3. And, they can say they did manage to duke it out.
4. They were about to duke it out.
5. - Do you wish to Duke it out?
dustup
/dˈʌstʌp/
nouna quarrel or fight
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Examples
1. Wonder if Peeler and KG discussed any of that in 2004 when they got in a little dustup?
2. Holm didn't seem to be bothered by the dustup.
to embroil
/ɛmˈbɹɔɪɫ/
verbto involve someone in an argument, conflict, or complex situation
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Examples
1. Ilhan Omar is embroiled in another controversy today.
2. Much like the Spanish side of South America, the nation of Brazil was currently embroiled in an independence struggle against its own colonial father, Portugal.
3. The Local Buddhist Sinhalese were embroiled by wars both with Hindu Tamils, and amongst themselves.
4. Emperor Basil II of Eastern Rome was embroiled in a civil war with a rebellious general, Bardas Phokas.
5. By the end of 1992 Buckingham Palace was embroiled in a CD family soap opera.
exchange
/ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ/
nouna brief conversation, often between two people who are in disagreement about something
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Examples
1. They can hug each other and exchange those plasmids to exchange useful abilities.
2. They can hug each other and exchange those plasmids to exchange useful abilities.
3. Valley exchanges one tiger for one dog.
4. The whales exchange a stream of calls.
5. The following day, the couple exchanged vows once more in a Hindu ceremony.
excuse me
/ɛkskjˈuːs mˌiː/
interjectionsaid before one disagrees with someone in order to not be rude or offensive
Examples
1. Excuse me, miss.
2. Sorry, excuse me, a white paper, then a book called "Irrational Exuberance."
3. Excuse me, 15.3 terabyte drive, since you could only actually wipe and refill this thing 167 times.
4. "Permitame" means excuse me.
5. - Excuse me this is my personality test!
to expostulate
/ɛkspˈɑːstuːlˌeɪt/
verbto strongly argue, disapprove, or disagree with someone or something
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Examples
1. There was not a soul there save the two whom I had followed and a surpliced clergyman, who seemed to be expostulating with them.
2. Having had a glass or two, Mr. Swaffer’s foreigner tried to expostulate: was ejected forcibly: got a black eye.
expostulation
/ɛkspˌɑːstuːlˈeɪʃən/
nounthe action of strongly arguing, disapproving, or disagreeing with someone or something; a statement in which a person strongly argues, disapproves, or disagrees with something or someone
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Examples
1. Increasingly, the government is going to be in a position to pilot things, test things, and not rely on speculative, before-the-fact expostulations about what's going to happen.
2. Hence arise surprise, expostulation and pain.
face-off
/fˈeɪsˈɔf/
nounan argument or fight between people
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Examples
1. Basically the Night King and Jon Snow have this really intense face-off.
2. It's kind of like a face-off.
3. The winner of the face-off takes the loser's card to keep track of their points.
4. Yeah, it's actually a lot like a face-off.
5. There's a face-off right now.
to face off
/fˈeɪs ˈɔf/
verbto fight, argue, etc. with someone or to get ready for doing so
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Examples
1. You're LASERING HIS FACE OFF.
2. It was a double feature with Face Off.
3. And they say They'Ll Koala drop you and rip your Face Off.
4. If I ever got bullied or someone started saying something about My Sister, i'll KOALA drop you and rip your Face Off.
faction
/ˈfækʃən/
nounarguments and disagreements between small groups of people within a political party or an organization
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Examples
1. There are factions.
2. Factions had formed.
3. Next, players choose factions.
4. So we need more factions.
5. But that faction, that second faction doesn't win the argument.
falling out
/fˈɔːlɪŋ ˈaʊt/
nouna situation in which people are no longer friendly with each other as a result of a disagreement or quarrel
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Examples
1. The hair started falling out.
2. My umbrella keeps falling out.
3. The vomiting and the diarrhea, and her hair started falling out.
4. First, Mollie Maggia's teeth began falling out.
5. My hair started falling out.
to fall out
/fˈɔːl ˈaʊt/
verbto be no longer friendly with someone as a result of an argument
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Examples
1. My contact fell out.
2. The window fell out.
3. My battery pack fell out.
4. - Bailey's tooth just fell out.
5. Her tooth just fell out.
far be it from me to
/fˈɑːɹ biː ɪt fɹʌm mˌiː tuː/
phraseused to make it clear that one is about to criticize or disagree with someone but is unwilling to do so
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Examples
1. Far be it from me to tell any lifelong Mariners fan how to feel about any of this, but for the rest of us, what is it truly missing?
2. There are people in the gardening world, particularly tomato growers who swear by the use of copper through the tomato stem and, you know, far be it from me to condemn that or poo-poos or say it's stupid, I'm just going from my own experience and through my own experimentation.
feud
/ˈfjud/
nouna heated argument that lasts for a long time
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Examples
1. Kumail Nanjiani starts feud with Mongols.
2. And then the families end the feud.
3. Start a feud right here!
4. Starting the feud right here!
5. They had internecine feuds.
to feud
/ˈfjud/
verbto have a prolonged and heated argument with someone
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Examples
1. Kumail Nanjiani starts feud with Mongols.
2. And then the families end the feud.
3. Start a feud right here!
4. Starting the feud right here!
5. They had internecine feuds.
feuding
/ˈfjudɪŋ/
nounsharp disagreements between people that last for a long time
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Examples
1. Within months, police rounded up the foot soldiers of the feuding clans.
2. But the reality of France, and even of Germany, in the 10th century would be as a series of nearly independent principalities feuding, only nominally controlled by the kings.
3. While it seems the days of feuding are long gone, emotions spilled over on this particular stormy night.
4. Therefore, many city-dwellers in the annexed lands experienced almost no change in the short term, and local princes were even allowed to continue their own feuding, as long as they did it under Seljuk auspices.
5. Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart to life in 2018, but the reality of these feuding cousins differs slightly from what we saw on the big screen.
fight
/ˈfaɪt/
nounan argument over something
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Examples
1. Is chicken fighting a universal thing?
2. Fight! -
3. Fight! -
4. Fighting the good fight.
5. You guys did fight this round.
to fight
/ˈfaɪt/
verbto take part in a violent action, either physical or verbal, against someone
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Examples
1. Is chicken fighting a universal thing?
2. Fight! -
3. Fight! -
4. Fighting the good fight.
5. You guys did fight this round.
to fight fire with fire
/fˈaɪt fˈaɪɚ wɪð fˈaɪɚ/
phraseto use methods or tactics similar to those of one's opponent in a fight or argument
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Examples
1. And in a bid to rescue their business, their answer at the time was to fight fire with fire.
2. Crews also fight fire with fire, burning ahead of a blaze so there's no unburnt kindling to catch.
3. But you can fight fire with fire by sending this video to three people you know, and encouraging them to do the same.
4. So rather than inject patients with just the code, another approach is more akin to fighting fire with fire.
5. Harvey Milk was gonna fight fire with fire.
fighting
/ˈfaɪtɪŋ/
nouninvolvement in a physical struggle against another person or group
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Examples
1. More viscerally, fighting is exciting to humans.
2. Go down fighting.
3. Fighting is very much like dancing.
4. On August the 29th, fighting began.
5. Fighting is all about skill.
to fight out
/fˈaɪt ˈaʊt/
verbto fight until a result is achieved or an agreement is reached
Examples
to fight one's own battles
/fˈaɪt wˈʌnz ˈoʊn bˈæɾəlz/
phraseto fight for what one wants or win an argument without the help of someone else
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Examples
1. - Everyone is fighting their own battles. -
2. It was then that I realized that I had to fight my own battles.
3. Adults fight their own battles.
flap
/ˈfɫæp/
nounmuch public anger or discussion
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Examples
1. For example, in the airplane I fly we have flaps one, five, 10, 15, 25, 30 and 40.
2. Flap your paddle gearbox into manual.
3. the tongue just flaps there.
4. The over-protective aunt flaps her ears.
5. Fly wings flap forward and back.
fracas
/ˈfɹeɪkəs/
nouna noisy fight or argument, which usually a lot of people take part in
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Examples
1. And there was a fracas, in which Captain Cook was killed by at least one Hawaiian.
2. So the fracas spilled out from Sal's pizzeria to the street.
3. I call them fragilista, someone who denies the anti-fragility of things and fracases by the denial.
4. Don't try to involve us in your fracas.
5. But the episode with the Basque is over, and the fracas with the Yanguesans doesn't come until five chapters later, after the Grisóstomo and Marcela interlude.
fray
/ˈfɹeɪ/
nounan intense argument, fight, or contest
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Examples
1. The chromosomes fray out back into chromatin.
2. The rise of automation and nationalism was fraying the continent at the edges.
3. A new robot is entering the fray.
4. And the edges fray really beautifully.
5. In their place, two new families joined the fray: the McGees and the Winders.
free-for-all
/ˈfɹifɔˌɹɔɫ/
nouna loud argument or fight that many people take part in
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Examples
1. While a pirate was a criminal who operated mostly on a free-for-all basis and attacked whatever ship caught his fancy, a privateer was more like a private contractor under the service of his government during wartime.
2. like I just said and every single week, this free-for-all calendar of hours would open up.
3. It's a free-for-all.
4. It was a free-for-all.
5. So in principle, it's free-for-all.
frenemy
/fɹˈɛnəmi/
nouna person who pretends to be a friend when in reality is one's rival or enemy
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Examples
1. Talk about a frenemy.
2. Do people still say 'frenemy?'
3. And the frenemy of relationship continues.
4. Ghana is like their closest frenemy.
5. What is a frenemy?
friction
/ˈfɹɪkʃən/
nounabsence of agreement or friendliness between people with different opinions
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Examples
1. An example of a non-conservative force is friction.
2. Friction exerts a force in the direction opposite of the motion.
3. Rain, snow, and ice significantly reduce friction.
4. Hair also reduces friction.
5. We hate friction.
gap
/ˈɡæp/
nouna difference, particularly an unwanted one, causing separation between two people, situations, or opinions
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Examples
1. Nature doesn't like gaps.
2. So, avoid gaps in care.
3. Stop gaps or otherwise.
4. So gaps don't invalidate candles.
5. Kinked rail, gap out rail, step up right here.
go-around
/ɡˌoʊɐɹˈaʊnd/
nounan argument or disagreement
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Examples
1. He truly believed he was meant to come into the world with the comet, and to then leave it on the next go-around.
2. But, when a gust of wind comes at the wrong time, it will cause the pilot to execute a go-around instead of landing.
3. Well, I guess so much for our go-around.
4. She would later return to Disney/Pixar for another go-around as Elastigirl in the 2018 sequel to 2004’s
5. But I love it, he's been playing more gruesome this go-around of it.
to go / be (at it / ) hammer and tongs
/ɡˌoʊ æt ɪt hˈæmɚ ænd tˈɑːŋz/
phraseto engage in an activity, particularly an argument, in a forceful, energetic, or violent manner
Examples
to go to the mat
/ɡˌoʊ tə ðə mˈæt/
phraseto support someone or something in an argument with another person
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Examples
1. And McConnell's willingness to go to the mat for judicial appointments, was perhaps never more obvious than during the Kavanaugh hearings.
2. I went to the mat for that joke, and I think we'll agree I was right and you were wrong!
3. What is the pettiest thing you've ever seen someone go to the mat for?
4. But as it turns out, one defendant is willing to you go to the mat against Sidney Powell.
5. You're probably not gonna take a lot of these things to trial, you're probably not gonna go to the mat on a lot of these cases, but you're going to plead, you're gonna give these people the best defense you possibly can, even if that results in guilty pleas down the line.
gridlock
/ˈɡɹɪdˌɫɑk/
noun(usually in politics) a situation in which no progress can be made because the people involved are unable to agree with one another
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Examples
1. Once the particles/cars reach a critical density, gridlock happens.
2. We use the word gridlock over and over again.
3. Now we're overcoming gridlock.
4. You have to gridlock this.
5. This policy is causing gridlock.
to haggle
/ˈhæɡəɫ/
verbto argue in order to reach an agreement, particularly over the price of something
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Examples
1. I haggled.
2. You haggle.
3. They're haggling about the price.
4. And then they haggle again.
5. And then they haggle over the collateral.
to happen
/ˈhæpən/
verbused to state that one disagrees with someone or is annoyed by what they have said
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Examples
1. If this necrosis, or tissue death, happens after a sting, permanent scars may remain on a victim's skin.
2. When the fire happened, didn't the firefighters come?
3. But, crucially, the company needs to answer for what happened here.
4. Criminal crimes happen a lot in video games, but some video game companies have taken the bold step of flouting the law themselves.
5. Pollen is moved from the male part of a flower to the female part of a flower, then fertilisation can happen causing fruit to grow.
to harrumph
/hˈæɹʌmf/
verbto express disapproval of something by making a noise in the throat
Examples
hassle
/ˈhæsəɫ/
nouna dispute or disagreement between people
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Examples
1. For my husband and me, the benefits just didn't outweigh the hassle.
2. Then tie the hassles around the knot.
3. A lot less hassle than having to ship if off somewhere.
4. This simple trick will save you so much hassle.
5. Sheet pan pork chops and sweet potatoes Sheet pan meals are hassle free.
to have
/ˈhæv/
verbto make someone be at a position of disadvantage in an argument
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Examples
1. The arrangement had mutual benefits for the public and the museum.
2. Apparently, the human nose has about one thousand different types of olfactory neurons.
3. One clan in the USA - Clan Donald - has 4,000 families.
4. Another brilliant physicist, Alexander Friedmann, had also reached the same conclusion.
5. The city has a massive migrant workforce.
to have a problem with sb/sth
/hæv ɐ pɹˈɑːbləm wɪð ˌɛsbˈiː slˈæʃ ˌɛstˌiːˈeɪtʃ/
phraseto not to be able to approve or accept someone or something
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Examples
1. But I'm so used to reading captions that I'm such a fast reader that I don't really have a problem with captions going too fast.
2. But I'm so used to reading captions that I'm such a fast reader that I don't really have a problem with captions going too fast.
3. And both of these years, I was hoping that after year one, we wouldn't have a problem with year two.
4. And both of these years, I was hoping that after year one, we wouldn't have a problem with year two.
5. As you may or may not have noticed if you are a caption user like me, if you're deaf, got APD, whatever, we're having a problem with captions.
to have words
/hæv wˈɜːdz/
verbto argue with someone
Examples
to have it out with sb
/hæv ɪt ˈaʊt/
phraseto talk to someone frankly in order to settle a dispute or argument
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Examples
1. So it can give the money directly to the U.S. Treasury, and then the U.S. Treasury will give them one of these IOUs, or it could buy it from someone already has it out in the open market.
2. Just having it out.
3. and then I'm going to attempt just that, to hold it from one end and have it out horizontally.
4. Maybe it says that your boss has it out for you.
5. And just to have it out there is awesome.
have it your (own / ) way
/hæv ɪt jʊɹ ˈoʊn wˈeɪ/
sentenceused to angrily state that despite one's disagreement with what someone has said, one will not argue about it
Examples
to egg
/ˈɛɡ/
verbto throw eggs at a person or thing, often to express contempt
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Examples
1. And only happy hens lay eggs.
2. Do eggs help your throat?
3. Egg wash this guy.
4. Eggs Most people already have eggs as a part of their daily breakfast and for good reasons.
5. Well eggs have another special nutrient.