on a/the knife-edge
idiom
: in a dangerous or important situation in which two very different results are possible
The election results hung on a knife-edge.
a region resting on a knife-edge after several wars
living on the knife-edge of poverty
Examples of on a/the knife-edge in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
With the game on a knife-edge, it was left to Ionescu to be the difference.
—
Ben Church, CNN, 30 Sep. 2024
Almost all of the trails are amazing, but locals love The Spine, a short A-line section of the Wasatch Crest Trail, with crazy exposure on a knife-edge ridge.
7.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 12 Aug. 2024
Jenni Reid Thu, Aug 1 20243:11 AM EDT Why the BOE’s interest rate decision is on a knife-edge
Before the European Central Bank cut interest rates at the start of June, policymakers spent weeks clearly signaling their intention to do so in speeches and interviews.
—Karen Gilchrist,ruxandra Iordache,jenni Reid,sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 1 Aug. 2024
With the match poised on a knife-edge, India’s captain Rohit Sharma sent Bumrah in to bowl his final two overs well ahead of schedule and the star bowler repaid his captain by stymieing the run rate and taking the wicket of Marco Jansen for good measure.
—Issy Ronald, CNN, 29 June 2024
This comes at a time when wealth and power in the supply chain have never been more unbalanced, with workers who were already living on the knife-edge of subsistence paying the price for the geopolitical instability that has roiled production and stoked inflation.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
That places the value of his stake on a knife-edge.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Avery, the man who put the world’s economy on a knife-edge by plundering the flagship of Aurangzeb of India, possibly the richest person in the world, drew deeply on a pipe filled with Virginia’s finest tobacco.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Even by the standards of the many monotonous origin stories that have been rolled out during this superhero boom, Daniel Espinosa’s film is a whiff, a half-hearted effort to create a character on a knife-edge between valor and villainy that instead ends up a portrait of a very annoying weirdo.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2022
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Ben Church, CNN, 30 Sep. 2024
Almost all of the trails are amazing, but locals love The Spine, a short A-line section of the Wasatch Crest Trail, with crazy exposure on a knife-edge ridge.
7.
—Graham Averill, Outside Online, 12 Aug. 2024
Jenni Reid Thu, Aug 1 20243:11 AM EDT Why the BOE’s interest rate decision is on a knife-edge
Before the European Central Bank cut interest rates at the start of June, policymakers spent weeks clearly signaling their intention to do so in speeches and interviews.
—Karen Gilchrist,ruxandra Iordache,jenni Reid,sophie Kiderlin, CNBC, 1 Aug. 2024
With the match poised on a knife-edge, India’s captain Rohit Sharma sent Bumrah in to bowl his final two overs well ahead of schedule and the star bowler repaid his captain by stymieing the run rate and taking the wicket of Marco Jansen for good measure.
—Issy Ronald, CNN, 29 June 2024
This comes at a time when wealth and power in the supply chain have never been more unbalanced, with workers who were already living on the knife-edge of subsistence paying the price for the geopolitical instability that has roiled production and stoked inflation.
—Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
That places the value of his stake on a knife-edge.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
Avery, the man who put the world’s economy on a knife-edge by plundering the flagship of Aurangzeb of India, possibly the richest person in the world, drew deeply on a pipe filled with Virginia’s finest tobacco.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Even by the standards of the many monotonous origin stories that have been rolled out during this superhero boom, Daniel Espinosa’s film is a whiff, a half-hearted effort to create a character on a knife-edge between valor and villainy that instead ends up a portrait of a very annoying weirdo.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 31 Mar. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near on a/the knife-edge
Cite this Entry
“On a/the knife-edge.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20a%2Fthe%20knife-edge. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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