double-edged sword
A benefit that is also a liability, especially a benefit that carries some significant…A benefit that is also a liability, especially a benefit that carries some significant but not-so-obvious cost or risk.
Meaning
3 senses(figuratively)A benefit that is also a liability, especially a benefit that carries some significant but not-so-obvious cost or risk.
(figuratively)A neutral principle that has applications that may be either positive (beneficial) or negative (adverse) to one's own interests.
The unintended ambiguity of the phrase was a double-edged sword: it spurred litigation but it also ended up shielding good-faith actors.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see double-edged, sword.
zweischneidiges Schwert
па́лка о двух конца́хpálka o dvux koncáx, обоюдоо́стрый мечobojudoóstryj meč
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From the notion that if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways. The metaFrom the notion that if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways. The metaphor may have originated from the Arabic expression سَيْفٌ ذُو حَدَّيْنِ (sayfun ḏū ḥaddayni, “double-edged sword”) or from the Hebrew expression חֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת (ẖérev pifiyót, “double-mouthed sword”).
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Forms
plural: double-edged swords| Singular | double-edged sword |
|---|---|
| Plural | double-edged swords |
regular