at sword's point

1. 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.

Example Sentences

If you bemoan the shutdown of so many federal agencies and regularly ask yourself why our two parties seem to be at sword’s point on just about everything, you will not find an adequate explanation for our troubles in vague claims that “both sides” have become “extreme.”

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In almost every case, Shep ended up at sword’s point with talents he championed.

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The three ladies became neighborhood friends, though always at sword’s point in their differing opinions on writing.

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She played feisty women in swashbucklers such as "The Black Swan" in 1942, "Sinbad the Sailor" in 1947 and "At Sword's Point" in 1952.

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Senate Republicans and House Republicans detest each other; Republican Governors detest the Republican Congress; Northern Republicans detest the Southernization of the G.0.P.; economic and cultural conservatives are forever at sword's point.

Read more on Time Magazine Archive