- lit. with swords drawn and bows bent (idiom); fig. a state of mutual hostility
- at daggers drawn
Characters
- 剑 (劍): double-edged sword; CL:口[kou3],把[ba3]; classifier for blows of a sword
- 拔 (拔): to pull up; to pull out; to draw out by suction; to select; to pick; to stand out (above level); to surpass; to seize
- 弩 (弩): crossbow
- 张 (張): surname Zhang
Resources
- Wiktionary: 剑拔弩张
- MDBG: 剑拔弩张
- Examples with 剑拔弩张 on Tatoeba
Examples
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