Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Chiefly British Slang A lively or disputatious discussion.
Wiktionary
- n. A verbal argument.
- v. To argue.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a verbal dispute; a wrangling argument
Etymologies
- Scots, reduplication of argie, argument, from argue. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Traditionally, an eyepatch signifies wisdom – Odin sacrificed an eye at the Well of Mimir in exchange for knowledge – though not in Thor, where he's played by Anthony Hopkins, who loses his in an argy-bargy with the Frost Giants.”
The Guardian: Anne Billson – Cutter's Way and the great tradition of the film eyepatch
“The gamesmanship — some call it “argy-bargy” — slowed the pace enough so that Mourey joined up from the next chase group.”
“Why call it “fighting” when you can call it “handbags,” or “argy-bargy?””
The Volokh Conspiracy » Soccerphiles & Soccerphobes, Lay Down Your Arms!
“But – by the same token – it is not the right of police officers to assault the public, and then turn around and say ‘well, it was a demonstration, there was some argy-bargy over there at this other incident, so we have the right to use any means necessary on any MOP we happen to come across.’”
“A tussle is always fun and it seems as though this tussle, this argy-bargy about how we treat each other, the terms that we use, how we acknowledge or don't the differences between us, is one that is of the moment and, for this moment, up for grabs.”
“Haw somehow managed to hold on to his stool and tent in the middle of the argy-bargy.”
“Sounds like a bunch of argy-bargy and chest beating just to make some people feel self-important.”
Business chiefs launch attack on parking tax « Stephen Rees's blog
“I mean, how many times can you fight the same argy-bargy with the same fighters?”
“More probable, it seems to me, is that we may be experiencing a reversion to the argy-bargy and furious disputation of the nineteenth century.”
“After much argy-bargy we said, "What the hell," and began a journey that continues today.”
Alex McCord: Laid off? Update Your Resume and Take Time to Admire the Gold Sparkly Drag Queen
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘argy-bargy’.
-
Silly-sounding words
Serious words that sound silly when you say them
philosophunculist, argy-bargy, Labradoodle, shittah, shittim, floccinaucinihili..., succedaneum, honorificabilitud..., fag-ma-fuff, buffarilla, yazzihamper, mammothrept and 140 more...
-
Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2042 more...
-
My Little Phonies
Names for the next generation of My Little Ponies. Inspired by Star's list.
juggernaught, flamboyant, cuddly maggot, astrobleme, agroof, windburn, poshlost, crucifer, feedbag, dunderwhelp, nebelwerfer, bliss ninny and 453 more...
-
bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1401 more...
-
Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
-
Umbersorrow
Intangible, anthropic.
States of being are listed on oofy.njiju, glark, deplore, afterlithe, tagmass, spuriosity, forkful, chelation, oding, ploat, botnet, quedeship and 477 more...
-
learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1380 more...
-
Hocus-pocus, I see a crocus!
Reduplicatives
willy-nilly, higgledy-piggledy, harum-scarum, argy-bargy, boogie woogie, hanky panky, itsy-bitsy, helter-skelter, lovey-dovey, wishy-washy, namby-pamby, niminy-piminy and 95 more...
-
M-W.com WotD 2003 Picks
punctilio, sitzmark, futurity, laodicean, anabasis, hector, plumply, argy-bargy, portmanteau, apodictic, hoary, indite and 38 more...
-
Britishisms
nowt, jolly good, queer, crumpet, muffin, snog, chuffed, knackered, air biscuit, almond rocks, argy-bargy, bum over noggin and 11 more...
-
rduke's Words
misguggle, ken, sere, etiolated, gelid, digladiate, popinjay, bathykolpian, conglaciation, hyperborean, callipygian, vagile and 1253 more...
-
Words, words, words
I know a hawk from a handsaw
metaxu, hardy, stout, teleological, heteroglossia, thin, library, theopoetics, sturdy, petroglyph, oasthouse, alum and 16 more...
-
perhapsolutely's Words
polyradiculoneuro..., abulia, abubble, abscission, abaft, zareba, abatis, abigail, abiogenesis, ablate, ablaut, abo and 1705 more...
-
SoulCurry's List
A bit like Schindler's List.
To add words which are the rejects, the lame dogs of English vocabulary.imparlibidinous, palimpsest, obacerate, gallimaufry, vitative, mystagogue, desuetude, flubdub, apophasis, apomnemonysis, praecisio, empathy deficit d... and 6 more...
-
Big, important words
philosophunculist, snollygoster, argy-bargy, defenestration, dord
Tweets
Looking for tweets for argy-bargy.
sionnach Isn't this how the British refer to the Falklands war, (oops, I mean 'la guerra de las Malvinas')? Sep 28, 2009
bilby "Underneath the political argy-bargy, the policies are the same. The policy priority on both sides is to look after the interests of the largest polluters in the interest of protecting jobs by not undermining the competitiveness of the coal, aluminium and other big polluting industries against their competitors overseas."
- Kenneth Davidson, Rudd Government an obedient servant of the big polluters, theage.com.au, 28 September 2009. Sep 28, 2009