knife-edged
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of knife-edged
First recorded in 1860–65
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.
“I’m so sorry, so sorry,” Verlaine sings, offering a desperate apology amid a crossfire of guitars and drums — knife-edged single notes, barbed lines, implacable offbeats — that don’t promise any forgiveness.
From New York Times • Jan. 29, 2023
All of the characters have a flair for knife-edged quips, but Basil is a veritable font of them.
From Washington Post • Nov. 20, 2018
There was always a knife-edged crease in his trousers and his shoes glittered.
From Time • Oct. 21, 2016
And the key to that was Coleman himself—his fleet but knife-edged phrasing and, still more, his tone: nakedly passionate, infused with note-bending blues.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2015
All around, tall stalks of cane were weaving and dancing to the rattling rhythm of their knife-edged blades.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
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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.