turf war

English

Alternative forms

• turfwar

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.(Canthis⁽⁺⁾etymology besourced?)

Pronunciation

• (General American)IPA^(key):/ˈtɚf woɹ/
• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ˈtɜːf wɔː/

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

turfwar(pluralturf wars)

1. Adisputeoverterritorybetweenrivalgangs.
2. (idiomatic)Afightorconfrontationbetween two divisions or parties for access toresourcesorcapital.
   • 2014July 18, Thomas Christie,Notional Identities: Ideology, Genre and National Identity in Popular Scottish Fiction Since the Seventies‎^[1],Cambridge Scholars Publishing,→ISBN,page202:

     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/litficturfwarinto that of value-neutral literary theory.