double-edged sword

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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 חֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת (ẖérev pifiyót, “double-mouthed sword”). The metaphor is first attested in English in the 15th century.

35 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Arabic: سَيْفٌ ذُو حَدَّيْنِ (sayfun ḏū ḥaddayni) — idiomatic
• Bulgarian: нож с две остриета (nož s dve ostrieta) — idiomatic
• Chinese Mandarin: 雙刃劍 /双刃剑 (shuāngrènjiàn) — idiomatic
• Czech: dvousečný meč — idiomatic
• Danish: tveægget sværd — idiomatic
• Dutch: tweesnijdend zwaard — idiomatic
• Esperanto: ambaŭtranĉa glavo — idiomatic
• Finnish: kaksiteräinen miekka — idiomatic
• French: arme à double tranchant — idiomatic
• German: zweischneidiges Schwert — idiomatic
• Greek: δίκοπο μαχαίρι (díkopo machaíri) — idiomatic
• Hebrew: חֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת (ẖérev pifiyót) — idiomatic
• Hungarian: kétélű fegyver — idiomatic
• Icelandic: tvíeggjað sverð — idiomatic
• Indonesian: pedang bermata dua — idiomatic
• Italian: arma a doppio taglio — idiomatic
• Japanese: 諸刃の剣 (moroha no tsurugi) — idiomatic
• Korean: 양날의 검 (yangnar-ui geom) — idiomatic
• Malay: serampang dua mata — idiomatic
• Persian: شمشیر دو لبه (šamšir-e do labe) — idiomatic
• Polish: miecz obosieczny — idiomatic
• Portuguese: faca de dois gumes — idiomatic
• Portuguese: pau de dois bicos — idiomatic
• Romanian: sabie cu două tăișuri — idiomatic
• Russian: па́лка о двух конца́х (pálka o dvux koncáx) — idiomatic
• Russian: обоюдоо́стрый меч (obojudoóstryj meč) — idiomatic
• Serbo-Croatian: мач са две оштрице — idiomatic
• Serbo-Croatian: mač sa dve oštrice — idiomatic
• Spanish: arma de doble filo — idiomatic
• Spanish: arma de dos filos — idiomatic
• Swedish: tveeggat svärd — idiomatic
• Thai: ดาบสองคม — idiomatic
• Turkish: iki ucu boklu değnek — idiomatic
• Urdu: دو دھاری تلوار (do dhārī talvār) — idiomatic
• Zazaki: wurdna hektara tede mende — idiomatic