TUG-OF-WAR • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Tug-of-war

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/təg-əv-wɔr/ Listen

Tug-of-war

noun

Any hard struggle between equally matched groups.

A contest in which teams pull of opposite ends of a rope; the team dragged across a central line loses.

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Etymology of 'Tug-of-war'

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"Tug-of-war" Quotes from Famous Books

... or wading boots, worn by a Marquis of Savoy, and removed by means of a tug-of-war team and a rope coiled round the ...

— Travels Through France and Italy • Tobias Smollett

... to let the enemy destroy the Colenso bridge, invaluable as it was. It became very evident that the enemy meant to fight tooth and nail, and that the passage of the Tugela would be disputed inch by inch. However, none was dismayed: all believed that when the great tug-of-war should come, they would be equal, and more than equal, to the occasion. Indeed, now that the forward movement of the troops had commenced, the camp was animated by a wave of patriotic fervour. The men were literally on fire with enthusiasm. ...

— South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6) - From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, - 15th Dec. 1899 • Louis Creswicke