at sword's point



at sword's point

Also, at swords' points. Antagonistic, hostile, as in Father and son were at swords' points. Dating from the days when swords were used to settle quarrels, the idiom today generally signifies only a bitter quarrel.
See also: point

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Liselot-Dutch
Bailey['beili]
Reannon-English (Rare)
Rasa-Lithuanian
VanamoVAH-nah-moFinnish
Slava-Russian, Slovene, Croatian