Conflicts

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Marius Hancu - 19 Jul 2009 13:02 GMT

Hello:

When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be called
"boilovers" or "blowups?" Any similar, or better terms?

--
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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contrex - 19 Jul 2009 13:57 GMT

> Hello:
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Thanks.
> Marius Hancu

arguments, disagreements, tiffs, disputes - a good thesaurus is your
only man.

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Marius Hancu - 19 Jul 2009 14:11 GMT

> > When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be calledAny similar, or better terms?

> arguments, disagreements, tiffs, disputes - a good thesaurus is your
> only man.

Are those I posted two OK?

Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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Jeffrey Turner - 19 Jul 2009 15:54 GMT

>>> When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be calledAny similar, or better terms?
>
>> arguments, disagreements, tiffs, disputes - a good thesaurus is your
>> only man.
>
> Are those I posted two OK?

"Blowup" is fine with me. I'd probably puzzle out "boilover" but it's
not a standard idiom IME. FWIW, my spellchecker agrees.

--Jeff

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The comfort of the wealthy has always
depended upon an abundant supply of
the poor. --Voltaire

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Marius Hancu - 19 Jul 2009 15:59 GMT

> >>> When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be calledAny similar, or better terms?
>
> >> arguments, disagreements, tiffs, disputes - a good thesaurus is your
> >> only man.
>
> > Are those I posted two OK?

Now, that's a funny one:-)

> "Blowup" is fine with me. I'd probably puzzle out "boilover" but it's
> not a standard idiom IME. FWIW, my spellchecker agrees.

Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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Chuck Riggs - 19 Jul 2009 16:27 GMT

>> > When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be calledAny similar, or better terms?
>
>> arguments, disagreements, tiffs, disputes - a good thesaurus is your
>> only man.
>
>Are those I posted two OK?

Were those you posted OK? No, both "blow-ups" and "boil overs" are
dated, as I see them. I don't know what the case was in BrE at the
time, but those two terms were popular in 1940's and 1950's America,
from what I remember of real life and the movies of the time.

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Regards,

Chuck Riggs,
who speaks AmE, lives near Dublin, Ireland
and usually spells in BrE

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John O'Flaherty - 19 Jul 2009 18:47 GMT

>> > When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be calledAny similar, or better terms?
>
>> arguments, disagreements, tiffs, disputes - a good thesaurus is your
>> only man.
>
>Are those I posted two OK?

They are different than just conflicts, or even fights. A conflict may
persist for a long time, and there may never be a boilover or blowup;
those terms would refer to a sudden intensification of a conflict.
Also, "boilover" and "blowup" have different connotations for me -
outbreak of the conflict into an argument, vs. explosive
confrontation.

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John

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Don Phillipson - 19 Jul 2009 14:41 GMT

> When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be called
> "boilovers" or "blowups?" Any similar, or better terms?

ROW seems to be the single most common word for disputes
between spouses. Any thesaurus offers many others.

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Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

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Steve Hayes - 20 Jul 2009 06:26 GMT

>Hello:
>
>When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be called
>"boilovers" or "blowups?" Any similar, or better terms?

Spats.

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Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

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R H Draney - 20 Jul 2009 08:22 GMT

Steve Hayes filted:

>>When talking of a couple, may their conflicts/fights be called
>>"boilovers" or "blowups?" Any similar, or better terms?
>
>Spats.

Domestic disturbances....r

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A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009

Conflicts