argy-bargy

[ahr-gee-bahr-gee]

noun

Chiefly British.

plural

argy-bargies 

1. a vigorous discussion or dispute.

argy-bargy

/ ˈɑːdʒɪˈbɑːdʒɪ /

noun

1. Also called: argle-bargle. informal,  a wrangling argument or verbal dispute

Word History and Origins

Origin of argy-bargy¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; alteration of argle-bargle

Word History and Origins

Origin of argy-bargy¹

C19: from Scottish, compound based on dialect argle, probably from _argue

Example Sentences

And to us, in our city apartment, it does feel as if, in the gentle argy-bargy of family life, we’ve been educating each other.

From The Guardian

I don’t want to get into an argy-bargy about his character, we want to win this on policy.”

From The Guardian

Spats, insults, intellectual argy-bargy, and then on Saturday a formal contest: Ireland v England.

From The Guardian

Either way, last term this race bestowed upon us a high level of argy-bargy, so let’s hope for more of that and see where we get to.

From The Guardian

Few analysts expect the current argy-bargy to turn into full-scale war.

From Economist