turf war en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈtɜːf wɔː/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈtɚf woɹ/ (General-American)
Etymology
The phrase may have originated as a reference to the game of American football where two teams confront each other on a field of grass or turf.
Meanings
- A dispute over territory between rival gangs.
-
(idiomatic) A fight or confrontation between two divisions or parties for access to resources or capital.
It's a fascinating distinction, and one that also has the neat effect of moving the debate on from the contentious territory of the SF/litfic turfwar into that of value-neutral literary theory.
2014 July 18, Thomas Christie, Notional Identities: Ideology, Genre and National Identity in Popular Scottish Fiction Since the Seventies, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, →ISBN, page 202:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| turfwar | alternative | lexicographic | |
| turf wars | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (3)
pl wojna terytorialna (Translations) · es pugna pandillera (Translations) · es lucha territorial (Translations)