The same often holds true for other situations such as airport security personnel and customs officers, but the dispute often hinges on what constitutes reasonable suspicion.

But the dispute also hinges on language.

The dispute hinges on an omission in the state law that enables municipalities to establish ethics boards.

As is usually the case, the dispute hinges on price.

The legal dispute hinged on Mr. North's refusal to provide a grand jury with a sample of his handwriting in 1987.

That dispute hinged on the differences between the two kinds of securities involved in First Boston's latest loss, the executives said.

When asked if the dispute hinged on former staff members' concerns for journalistic standards, Mr. Singer said, "That's nonsense."

But Navy officials say the current dispute hinges not on policy or personality but rather a judgment call.

Mr. Gates, insisting that the legal issues between his company and the Government were narrow, said that the current dispute hinged on a single sentence in the 1995 decree.

The legal dispute hinges on a clause in the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984, a federal law that set the ground rules for generic drugs.