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Reader question: Please explain “turf war”, as in: Turf war continues between two local governments. My comments: Turf is the surface of a piece of the ground, the grass pitch of a soccer field for example. Colloquially in America turf also refers to “an area that you think of as being your own” (Longman Dictionary). New immigrants, for example, are resented by many locals because the locals feel that their “turf” is being invaded (as immigrants compete for jobs). In the example from the top, the said “two local governments” are fighting for control over something, whatever it is. Each government feels that it, instead of the other, is entitled to exercising authority over some disputed issue. And when that dispute escalates, it’s sometimes called a war, a war over turf (territory), hence “turf war”. “Turf war” was originally a term describing the territorial disputes or competition for control of certain businesses among gangster (mafia) groups. The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable says this term “came in the 1970s”. If that is the case, this term might have gained currency thanks to the popularity of The Godfather movies about mafia groups. Mafia groups are organizations who operate at the other side of the law. In other words, their business is illegal. Usually, one gangster group controls the business of, say, the narcotics trade in one area of town. Another group controls the same business in another part of town. When one group uses force to try to take over the business in the other group’s turf, this leads to a turf war. | 
