beef question

[VGR]

what is the idiomatic english expression ?
"what is the link to the beef" ?
"what is the link with the beef" ?
there is a beef in that expression, but where ? :D

I could search on google, but I prefer to ask to my excellent anglophone colleagues ;-)

thanks

[coral1]

Where it goes depends on what you are talking about.
Are you talking about meat, or using "beef" as slang for "a problem"?

But a quick answer is:

What is the beef with the link? <slang>

Where is the link to the beef? <meat>

"Where's the beef!" <old TV ad>

[VGR]

slang, but I once knew it as the third.
thanks

[COBOLdinosaur]

The old TV ad takes advantage of a double meaning for beef in common usage.

The term "where's the beef" uses the slang version of beef to replace "issue" or "argument".  However the slang version is indicative of a much more aggressive tone.  The Wendy's ad was aimed at their competitor McDonald's to question and compare the relative quality of hamburgers. The ad was extremely effective through use of a linkage in meaning that does not exist; but that was strongly implied by the visual presentation of the ad.

It was a part of advertising art, and as I recall it won awards for effectivness and creativity.