First documented in English in 1822, from Scots (where first recorded in 1808), from earlier argle used in English since 16th century, presumably from argue + -le, though possibly from Old Norse - (Suio-Gothic) ierga – possibly influenced by haggle – plus rhyming reduplication, possibly from bargain, found in early variant aurgle-bargain (1720).

argle-bargle

1. (slang) A verbal argument.
   • 1992, Rebecca Ward, Grand Deception, page 43:

     Wendell and I have had our share of argle-bargles about the morality of hunting.

   • 2013, United States v. Windsor, 544 U.S. 744, 799 (2013) (Scalia, J., dissenting)

     As I have said, the real rationale of today’s opinion, whatever disappearing trail of its legalistic argle-bargle one chooses to follow, is that DOMA is motivated by '"bare . . . desire to harm"' couples in same-sex marriages.

argle-bargle (argle-bargles, present participle argle-bargling; simple past and past participle argle-bargled)

1. (slang) To argue.
   • 1886 May 1 – July 31, Robert Louis Stevenson, “The Captain Knuckles Under”, in Kidnapped, being Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the Year 1751: […], London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 1886, →OCLC ↗, page 97 ↗:

     Last night ye haggled and argle-bargled like an apple-wife; and then passed me your word, and gave me your hand to back it; and ye ken very well what was the upshot. Be damned to your word!

• wringle-wrangle

• argie-bargie
• argy-bargy
• argol-bargol