tug-of-war

tug-of-war  {n.}
1. A game in which two teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, trying to pull the other team over a line marked on the ground.
The tug-of-war ended when both teams tumbled in a heap.
2. A contest in which two sides try to defeat each other; struggle.
A tug-of-war developed between the boys who wanted to go fishing and those who wanted to go hiking.
Betty felt a tug-of-war between her wish to go to the movies and her realizing she had to do her homework.
The tug of war between the union men and management ended in a long strike.
Categories: {n.}
Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms
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