at sword's point

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Also, at swords' points. Antagonistic, hostile, as in Father and son were at swords' points. Dating from the days when swords were used to settle quarrels, the idiom today generally signifies only a bitter quarrel.

QUIZ

TAKE JOY IN ACING THIS QUIZ ON “PRIDE” SYNONYMS

Hold your head up high as you embark on this quiz that explores some of the synonyms and meanings of “pride.”

Question 1 of 7

What does "dignity" mean?

showing self-respect

treating others with kindness

acting selfishly

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Words nearby at sword's point

at someone's heels, at someone's mercy, at someone's request, at someone's service, at stake, at sword's point, att., attaboy, attacca, attach, attaché

How to use at sword's point in a sentence

The citizens of Stevens Point defeated fluoridation by a healthy margin.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Deep, situational, and emotional jokes based on what is relevant and has a POINT!
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To borrow an old right-wing talking point, these people are angry no matter what we do.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Therefore, it is not possible for any F-35 schedule to include a video data link or infrared pointer at this point.
Pentagon Misfires in Stealth Jet Scandal|Dave Majumdar|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST

But the most important point I want to make is about what the press does now.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
His also was the intellectual point of view, and the intellectual interest in knowledge and its deductions.
The Mediaeval Mind (Volume II of II)|Henry Osborn Taylor
Judged from this point of view only, the elasticity provided by the new law is doubtless adequate.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
That is the only point in which one sees Liszt's sense of his own greatness; otherwise his manner is remarkably unassuming.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
When we speak against one capital vice, we ought to speak against its opposite; the middle betwixt both is the point for virtue.
Pearls of Thought|Maturin M. Ballou