The terms of the old man's will were a bone of contention to his survivors.
Origin
1705-15
Examples from the web for bone of contention
The cause of the four-limbed locomotion, however, is a bone of contention among the researchers.
Now it appears that the real bone of contention is the aim of proposed cuts in tariffs on manufactured goods.
One bone of contention is social networks' reluctance to draw attention to their privacy statements.
One potential bone of contention is with medical monitoring.
The only bone of contention was the setting of a deadline for those things to happen.
He noted that that has been a bone of contention because their community is so large and diverse.
The financing of agricultural import supports became an enduring bone of contention in transatlantic and global trade relations.
British Dictionary definitions for bone of contention
bone of contention
noun
1.
the grounds or subject of a dispute
Idioms and Phrases with bone of contention
bone of contention
Main issue of a disagreement; something to quarrel about. For example, Grandfather's will was a bone of contention for the whole family. This expression alludes to two dogs fighting (contending) over a single bone. In slightly different guise, bone of dissension, it was used figuratively in the 16th century and took its present form in the early 1700s.