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Glite Dictionary
knife-edge

knife-edge

7.5
A very unstable situation that can quickly become much worse or better after a small change
  • noun
  • /ˈnaɪfˌɛdʒ/
translation icon : línea crítica
  • Today's Financial Times bears a banner headline on p.1: "US election hangs on a knife edge."

But it's that's on a knife edge as well, but tough.

Examples

  • Although there will come this knife edge time where the wage starts to pop up and then quite unrealistically, you know, there should be no more farmers.

  • And if you're lucky and you start away from the golden rule steady state, you would evolve on a knife edge and eventually converge to it.

  • These are knife edge things to balance and you can get them wrong so easily.

  • So that means if you lean to the left or to the right, all of your weight is on basically a knife edge of the skate.

  • The negotiations are currently on a knife-edge, as any small disagreement could collapse the entire deal.

  • Her future is on a knife-edge after the unexpected changes in the company leadership.

  • The team is operating on a knife-edge in the final minutes of the game, with both sides desperate for victory.

Synonyms

verge
vsknife-edge
159 3.7

The edge of a place or situation where something is about to happen

denotes a delicate boundary whose small movement can cause large consequences
brink
vsknife-edge
127 5.7

A point when an important or dangerous change is about to happen

specifies the narrow boundary where minimal change alters future outcomes
fine line
vsknife-edge
55 5.1

A small difference that is hard to see between similar things

focuses on a narrow boundary where tiny shifts produce big outcomes
tipping point
vsknife-edge
43 5.3

A moment when a small event causes a big, lasting change

is about a narrow boundary sensitive to tiny shifts rather than the irreversible change
on a knife-edge
vsknife-edge
1 7.8

A situation that could easily end well or badly

describes a very narrow boundary where small change has large effects

How Narrow

knife-edge
7.5
edge
∞ 1.0
margin
39 2.9

Surface Forms

knife-edge singular
knife-edges plural

Morphology

knife-edge = knife + edge (semi-transparent) = knife + edge

The components 'knife' and 'edge' are literal and recognizable, but the idiomatic sense 'precarious, finely balanced situation' is metaphorical rather than a straightforward compositional meaning.

Etymology

The word knife-edge comes from the image of a thin knife 'edge' where one small move can make you fall. So, to be on a knife-edge means to be in a very narrow, unstable balance where a tiny change can have big consequences.