🇮🇹Italian Source WordCode: IT

armi e burro

Pronunciation / Transliteration: armi e burro

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Guns-and-Butter/ɡʌnz ənd ˈbʌtər/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #15000 frequency
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🇮🇹 Example Sentence in Italian:

"Il governo deve affrontare il dilemma tra armi e burro."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A phrase used to illustrate the trade-off between a nation's military spending and its domestic welfare spending.

    "The government's budget reflects a clear guns-and-butter dilemma, as they must decide between increasing military funding or enhancing social programs."
  2. 2

    A metaphor for the balance between defense and social welfare in economic policy.

    "In times of crisis, the guns-and-butter debate becomes more pronounced among policymakers."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The phrase 'guns and butter' originated in the mid-20th century, particularly during the Cold War era, to describe the trade-off between a nation's investment in defense and civilian goods. It reflects the economic choices governments face regarding resource allocation.

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