sharp end

The bow of a ship.

Noun

  1. The bow of a ship.
  2. The most difficult or dangerous aspect of something.
    • to be on/at the sharp end of something
    • to get the sharp end
    • From individual stock exchange floor traders to prominent businessmen and establishment banks like Standard Chartered PLC, a growing list of Hong Kong identities are finding themselves on the sharp end of regulatory...
  3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see sharp, end.
    • Brutus did n't^([sic]) worry after he heard that his wife took a few hot coals. He called a servant and ran straight into his sword starting at the sharp end. - 1905 September, “A School Comment on Shake-Speare's Julius...

Forms

sharp ends