cut and thrust
noun
chiefly British
: the lively and exciting quality of an activity in which people compete or argue with each other
He has always enjoyed the cut and thrust of politics.
Examples of cut and thrust in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Debate’s cut and thrust can be easily misunderstood by the young, Ibsen says—especially by those who turn its violence on themselves.
—
Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
As a historian, my tendency is to focus less on the cut and thrust of politics of the moment and more on the longer term, the structural directions and the big drivers of change.
—Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
Between making stump speeches and posing for photos in her coastal constituency of Odawara, about two hours’ drive from the capital, Tokyo, Makishima told Reuters that female candidates struggle to overcome societal views that the long hours and cut and thrust of Japanese politics is not for women.
—Reuters, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024
The cut and thrust of ideas, life stories, fears and emotional twists between these two forceful, vibrant women — one a novelist, the other a war correspondent for the New York Times — proves a cinematic goldmine.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2024
Above the cut and thrust of legislative debate, nations are also caught in a contradiction.
—Mustafa Suleyman, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023
Editor Anne Fabini applies a lazy, hazy high-summer rhythm to proceedings that coordinates well with Armin Dierolf’s humid widescreen lensing, with its heavy yellow filters and slow, intoxicated movement — broken only by the aggressive cut and thrust, so to speak, of the film’s love scenes.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Feb. 2023
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Helen Shaw, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
As a historian, my tendency is to focus less on the cut and thrust of politics of the moment and more on the longer term, the structural directions and the big drivers of change.
—Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024
Between making stump speeches and posing for photos in her coastal constituency of Odawara, about two hours’ drive from the capital, Tokyo, Makishima told Reuters that female candidates struggle to overcome societal views that the long hours and cut and thrust of Japanese politics is not for women.
—Reuters, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024
The cut and thrust of ideas, life stories, fears and emotional twists between these two forceful, vibrant women — one a novelist, the other a war correspondent for the New York Times — proves a cinematic goldmine.
—Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2024
Above the cut and thrust of legislative debate, nations are also caught in a contradiction.
—Mustafa Suleyman, WIRED, 6 Sep. 2023
Editor Anne Fabini applies a lazy, hazy high-summer rhythm to proceedings that coordinates well with Armin Dierolf’s humid widescreen lensing, with its heavy yellow filters and slow, intoxicated movement — broken only by the aggressive cut and thrust, so to speak, of the film’s love scenes.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 17 Feb. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Cut and thrust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cut%20and%20thrust. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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