Argy-bargy

Alternative spellings are argie-bargie and argey-bargey meaning a spat or an argument. It can also be used as a verb. The first part of the expression is thought to come from the word argue. The rhyming element is derived from Scottish dialect where it is known as argle-bargle. The expression first makes its appearance during the 19th century and the Scottish form was used by Robert Louis Stevenson (himself a Scot) in his novel Kidnapped (1886). “Last night ye haggled and argle-bargled, like an apple-wife.” An example of the more modern version appears in J. M. Barrie’s Margaret Ogilvy (1896). “Ten minutes at the least did she stand at the door argying and bargying with that man.”