double-edged sword
nounEtymology 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.
1
Figuratively A benefit that is also a liability, especially a benefit that carries some significant but not-so-obvious cost or risk.
- 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.”2020 June 23, Tiffany Hsu, “Ad Boycott of Facebook Keeps Growing”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2021:
- 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 February 9, Christina Newland, “Is Tom Hanks part of a dying breed of genuine movie stars?”, in BBC, archived from the original on 01 Jan 2026:
2 more examples
- 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.2021 July 28, Ben Jones, “When BR got cracking after withdrawal of 'Blue Trains'”, in RAIL, number 936, page 32:
- “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,” […]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, →ISSN, archived from the original on 03 Aug 2023:
2
Figuratively 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.
- 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.2015 August 12, Todd Leopold, “Return to the ‘City That Care Forgot’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 02 Jan 2022:
3
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see double-edged, sword.
- Related terms
- dual-use technology, a blessing and a curse, be careful what you wish for, blurse, cut both ways, Midas, Trojan horse