double-edged sword

English

Etymology

From the notion that if two sides of the same blade are sharp, it cuts both ways. The metaphor may have originated from the Arabic expression سَيْفٌ ذُو حَدَّيْنِ (sayfun ḏū ḥaddayni, “double-edged sword”) or from the Hebrew expression חרב פיפיות (“double-mouthed sword”).

The metaphor is first attested in English in the 15th century.

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Pronunciation

Audio (General Australian): (file)

Noun

double-edged sword (plural double-edged swords)

(figurative) A benefit that is also a liability, or (a benefit) that carries some significant but not-so-obvious cost or risk.
Synonyms: dual-edged sword, two-edged sword
- 2020 June 23, Tiffany Hsu, “Ad Boycott of Facebook Keeps Growing”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 15 March 2021:
  He added: “Facebook is a double-edged sword. You don’t want to support it, but you have to use it in order to reach a large audience.”
- 2021 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC‎^[2], archived from the original on 1 January 2026:
  The double-edged sword of movie stardom remains the same as it ever was: when a persona is so fixed in the public mind, it's what people love you for, and it becomes difficult to deviate from.
- 2021 July 28, Ben Jones, “When BR got cracking after withdrawal of 'Blue Trains'”, in RAIL, number 936, page 32:
  Of course, social media is a double-edged sword, and the opportunity for passengers to communicate their feelings to media teams is not always a happy one.
- 2023 July 21, Rachel Hall, quoting Sebastian Brixey-Williams, “Anti-nuclear groups welcome Oppenheimer film but say it fails to depict true horror”, in The Guardian‎^[3], →ISSN, archived from the original on 3 August 2023:
  “Nuclear weapons are becoming part of the international conversation again and that’s a double-edged sword. I’m glad they are, but this is because nuclear risks are rising,” […]
(figurative) A neutral principle that has applications that may be either positive (beneficial) or negative (adverse) to one's own interests.
The unintended ambiguity of the phrase was a double-edged sword: it spurred litigation but it also ended up shielding good-faith actors.
- 2015 August 12, Todd Leopold, “Return to the ‘City That Care Forgot’”, in CNN‎^[4], archived from the original on 2 January 2022:
  The phrase was, and remains, a double-edged sword: a testament to the hard-working and hard-living citizens of the Crescent City and an indicator of the “ah, whatever” shrug hanging over its corrupt politics, its ramshackle infrastructure and its belief that partying trumps all.
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see double-edged,‎ sword.

Translations

idiomatic

Arabic: سَيْفٌ ذُو حَدَّيْنِ m (sayfun ḏū ḥaddayni)
Bulgarian: нож с две остриета m (nož s dve ostrieta)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 雙刃劍 / 双刃剑 (zh) (shuāngrènjiàn) (a double-edged sword)
Czech: dvousečný meč m (a double-edged sword)
Danish: tveægget sværd n
Dutch: tweesnijdend zwaard (nl) n
Esperanto: ambaŭtranĉa glavo
Finnish: kaksiteräinen miekka
French: arme à double tranchant (fr) f
German: zweischneidiges Schwert n
Greek: δίκοπο μαχαίρι n (díkopo machaíri)
Hebrew: חֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת (he) f (ẖérev pifiyót)
Icelandic: tvíeggjað sverð n
Indonesian: pedang bermata dua (id)
Italian: arma a doppio taglio f
Japanese: 諸刃の剣 (ja) (もろはのつるぎ, moroha no tsurugi) (a double-edged sword)
Korean: 양날의 검 (yangnar-ui geom) (a double-edged sword)
Malay: serampang dua mata (a two-sided spear/harpoon: spear fish with either end, with the other end being a safety hazard)
Persian: شمشیر دو لبه (šamšir-e do labe)
Polish: miecz obosieczny m
Portuguese: faca de dois gumes (pt) f (a knife with two edges), pau de dois bicos m
Romanian: sabie cu două tăișuri f
Russian: па́лка о двух конца́х (ru) f (pálka o dvux koncáx) (a stick with two ends), обоюдоо́стрый меч m (obojudoóstryj meč) (a double-edged sword)
Serbo-Croatian: мач са две оштрице m, mač sa dve oštrice
Spanish: arma de doble filo (es) f (a double-edged weapon), arma de dos filos (es) f (a two-edged weapon)
Swedish: tveeggat svärd n
Thai: ดาบสองคม (th)
Turkish: iki ucu boklu değnek (vulgar) (a wand with both ends in shit)
Zazaki: wurdna hektara tede mende