Common Idioms for IELTS Topic Apple of Discord

Nov 20, 2021

The IELTS Speaking test measures how well you can use idiomatic language. Idioms help the candidate to build vocabulary and help to improve the score. In order to answer IELTS speaking and reading sections, the candidates must learn different types of idioms. This particular idiom will help you understand its literal meaning and how you can use it in IELTS speaking.

Topic: Apple of Discord

Origin: This idiom was first used in the mid-sixteenth century, around 1640 to 50s. It is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord. As indicated by Greek mythology in the story The Judgment of Paris the goddess Eris threw amidst the gala of the divine beings at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis as a prize of excellence, in this manner starting a vanity-filled question among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that ultimately provoked the Trojan War. And due to this, the Roman goddess relating to the Greek Eris was named "Discordia".

Meaning: A core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute. Something that causes trouble or unhappiness.

Synonyms: brawl, brush, combat, contest, controversy, dispute, a difference of opinion

Examples:

The ancestral property became an apple of discord among the two brothers.
The water-sharing pact has been the apple of discord between the two villages.
What is the apple of discord between Teja and Rahul? Why they are not talking to each other?
Money became the apple of discord between Jeremy and Shaun which broke their 12-year-old friendship.
Liena’s straightforwardness became the apple of discord between her and her husband.

Also, check:

Common Idioms for IELTS Topic Pull The Wool Over Someone’s Eyes	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking A Day Late and a Dollar short	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking Bull In A China Shop
Common Idioms for IELTS Topic Keep One’s Finger On The Pulse Of Something	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking The Gift of the Gab	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking To Hit the Book
Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking Look Like a Million Dollars	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking A Piece of Cake	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking Keep One’s Feet on the Ground
Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking Jump for Joy	Common Idioms for IELTS Speaking Rub Someone (Up) The Wrong Way	Common Idioms for IELTS Topic Cut from the Same Cloth

Exercise:

Go through the examples to understand the usage of the idiom:

The border issue has long been an apple of discord among the two countries.

Explanation: In the above sentence the idiom is used in the context of referring to a dispute among two countries over a small thing. It is mention that the border has been issue of the argument of the fight between two countries. Hence the idiom perfectly describes the situation.

The dead mother’s diamond jewelry became an apple of discord among her children.

Explanation: The jewelry of their dead mother became the topic of argument among the children. So the idiom here describes the difference of opinion among her children.

Mr.Shaw wanted to perform the surgery for free. But Mrs. Jane does not seem to agree with it. The surgery became an apple of discord between the two.

Explanation: In this sentence, the surgery was the topic of dispute between two doctors. It is mentioned that Mr. Shaw wanted the surgery to be free But Mrs. Jane could not seem to agree with him. Ans soon enough it became an apple of discord between them.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.