tug of war
首先我们来看一下这个短语的英文解释：
A tug-of-war is a sports event in which two teams test their strength by pulling against each other on opposite ends of a rope。
拔河是一项测试团队合作力量的体育比赛，比赛的形式是两队各持一根绳子的相反的两个端点使劲拉。
The sailors won at tug of war。
水手们赢得了拔河比赛的胜利。
You can use tug-of-war to refer to a situation in which two people or groups both want the same thing and are fairly equally matched in their struggle to get it。
tug of war 也可以用来指两组或两个人针锋相对又实力相当，很难决出胜负的情况。
When Greek meets Greek，then comes the tug of war。”
希腊人与希腊人相对，必有一番苦斗（势均力敌，必有激战）。
来源：每日学英语微信公众账号
责任编辑：陈熙