on a/the knife-edge

idiom

Definition of on a/the knife-edge

: 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

Word by Word Definitions

knife-edge play

: a sharp wedge of steel or other hard material used as a fulcrum for a lever beam in a precision instrument
: a sharp narrow knifelike edge

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