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3. beat swords into ploughshares

beat swords into ploughshares

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beat/turn swords into ploughshares

  (formal)

to stop preparing for war and to start using the money you previously spent on weapons to improve people's lives It would have been unrealistic to expect a country like the United States to turn swords into ploughshares the moment the Cold War ended.

See cross swords with

See also: beat, sword