butt heads en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From the activities of some horned animals, which compete by butting, or hitting, their heads against one another.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) To argue uncompromisingly.
They always seem to butt heads when they end up talking about politics.
"Eventually, I just pieced it together, figuring your butting heads could probably be explained by a break up. Years of anime shipping trained me for this."
2018 November 21, Jocelyn Samara D., Rain (webcomic), Comic 1101 - Rose:
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To struggle against something that does not give way.
For long spells, City butted their heads against Chelsea’s well-organised lines and the upshot was the end of their push to complete a treble.
2021 May 29, David Hytner, “Chelsea win Champions League after Kai Havertz stuns Manchester City”, in The Guardian:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| butted heads | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| butted heads | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| butts heads | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| butting heads | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Translations (5)
fi kinastella (argue uncompromisingly) · pl kłócić się (argue uncompromisingly) · fr ne pas se mouiller (argue uncompromisingly) · cmn 發生衝突 /发生冲突 (argue uncompromisingly) · pl pokłócić się (argue uncompromisingly)