綱引き

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 綱引き, read つなひき, means tug-of-war, in which two sides pull on a rope.
• Basic usage: In 運動会の綱引きで私たちの組が優勝した。, the speaker's team wins the tug-of-war at the field day.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• From a game to a struggle
  • 部署間の綱引き figuratively describes departments pulling for a favorable share of the budget. The opposing sides of the physical game become competing sides in negotiation.