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.
They added that Widdecombe loved the "cut and thrust of political debate" and despite leaving Parliament 16 years ago, was "still actively campaigning for Reform UK".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
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
After witnessing the procedural cut and thrust, with little apparent forward movement, Powell declared herself as bewildered as when she first arrived in Guantánamo over the weekend, looking for answers about her son’s death.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 2, 2019
"After him!" roared Dick, who was by now as rage-mad as any berserker; and with a cut and thrust to right and left for the nipping trap-jaws we were out and away in chase.
From The Master of Appleby A Novel Tale Concerning Itself in Part with the Great Struggle in the Two Carolinas; but Chiefly with the Adventures Therein of Two Gentlemen Who Loved One and the Same Lady by Francis Lynde
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.
