barney

¹ American  

[bahr-nee] / ˈbɑr ni /

noun

plural

barneys

1. Informal.

   1. an argument.

   2. a prizefight.

   3. a fight or brawl.

   4. a blunder or mistake.

2. a small locomotive used in mining and logging.

3. Movie Slang. a heavily padded cover for a camera, used to reduce the camera noise so that it will not be picked up by the sound-recording equipment.

---

Barney ² American  

[bahr-nee] / ˈbɑr ni /

noun

1. a first name, form of Bernard.

---

barney British  

/ ˈbɑːnɪ /

noun

1. a noisy argument

---

verb

1. to argue or quarrel

Etymology

Origin of barney

First recorded in 1860–65; perhaps special uses of Barney

Example Sentences

“Give barney his chubby cheeks and nose back!”

From Washington Post • Feb. 15, 2023

For "sell 10,000 bushels of May wheat at $1.45 1/4" the message might read: "Sell barney stoke", explained Ross.

From BBC • Jun. 19, 2013

I’ve had a reasonably public barney with Mark Lynas in the pages of The Guardian.

From Forbes • Jan. 5, 2013

At Monday's press conference, five women reunited on a staircase, the media went nuts and Posh almost had a barney with Scary.

From The Guardian • Jun. 28, 2012

They had a right barney this evening, actually over the dinner table.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell