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.
"We do know from the Covid era that remote meetings do lack the proper cut and thrust required in this political arena", he said.
From BBC • Sep. 18, 2024
Elected in March, the 61-year-old former prosecutor-general only formally entered the cut and thrust of Korean politics when he declared his run for the presidency last June.
From Reuters • May 9, 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
Again and again the bold boy cut and thrust as the wolves kept coming within his reach.
From Far Past the Frontier by Fry, W. H.
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.
