cut and thrust
Britishnoun
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fencing using both the blade and the point of a sword
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(in argument, debate, etc) a lively and spirited exchange of ideas or opinions
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For his critics, Southgate's team had become a caricature of the manager himself - all caution and consideration, no cut and thrust.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2024
Germany's president is meant to be a unifying figure who stands above the cut and thrust of daily politics, one who enjoys the moral authority to exhort people to better behaviour.
From Reuters • Apr. 4, 2022
The cut and thrust of parliamentary debate is notorious for bringing out the boor even in normally mild-mannered members of Parliament.
From Washington Post • May 30, 2019
From anaesthetic-free amputations and bloodletting to Albert Einstein’s aneurysm, these are key insights into the cut and thrust of medicine.
From Nature • Oct. 16, 2018
But whatever the advantages, it could hardly be reckoned amongst them, that there would be room for the hearty cut and thrust retorts which enlivened his ordinary talk.
From Samuel Johnson by Stephen, Leslie, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
