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Definition:
b) a power-fight in business
German translation:
turf war = die Gebietsstreitigkeit; der Revierkampf; Streit über Gebietsansprüche
turf = der Rasen; Rasenstück; Torfscholle; Pferderennbahn
to turf someone out (Brit.) = jmdn. hinauswerfen
artificial turf = der Kunstrasen
Sample text:
"Advertising in US schools is reaching epidemic proportions. Some 150 school districts have exclusive drinks contracts in what is rapidly turning into a TURF WAR between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, neither of them noted for the nutritional or health values of their products."
(The Independent 6th September 1999)
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In July 2003, Britain's "most celebrated graffiti artist" Banksy, famed for leaving such subversive images as riot police with smiley faces and the Mona Lisa firing a rocket launcher on walls and bridges throughout London, launched an exhibition called 'TURF WAR' featuring a variety of live animals.
Among the offerings? Pigs painted in police-uniform colours, and a cow covered with images of Andy Warhol's face.
(The exhibition, held in a London warehouse, drew animal rights protesters, among them a woman who chained herself to railings surrounding the cow. The famously modest Banksy slipped out of the warehouse before the launch party and denied, through a spokeswoman, that the exhibition marked his entrance into mainstream culture.)
Did you know?
turf war
There are various theories concerning the origin and use of this phrase:
1. The use of "turf" to refer to a gang's territory, from which "turf war" could derive, dates to at least the 1950s.
2. If one owns land it is often grass covered - and if there are fights over the land, it's naturally a turf war.
3. "Turf (out)" in the sense of throwing someone out first shows up in the Oxford Dictionary in the late 19th century - this could have to do with the throwing of someone onto the turf (from a house, train, etc.).
"Turf" is current US hospital slang for transferring a patient or problem to someone else, thus escaping responsibility for him/her/it.
Note: In sports, turf is mainly used in horseracing, to a lesser extent football. Grass is used in tennis, as opposed to Astro turf in baseball.
Nice weekend!
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And now...
Today's Learning Tip (7):
Recall some Synonyms
When you learn the new word, recall other English words with similar meanings - having alternative ways of saying something gives you more precision and flexibility in speaking.
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