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A dagger, by definition, is sharp on both edges? Why the proverb: "2-edged sword"? Why not "dagger"?
I apologize for the choppy grammar in which I phrased my question. Yahoo doesn't give much room for proper phrasing sometimes...
I was reading and came across the well-known saying whereupon something is compared to a "double-edged sword".
Isn't a dagger two-edged? If so, is a dagger, by definition, always two-edged? Is there any other type of knife/ sword that is always or often two edged?
Wasn't sure how to categorize this question.
Thanks!
Obviously, of course, I realize there is a difference between a sword and a dagger (size-wise), and that a dagger is a knife and a sword.. isn't.
But moving on, my question was, why, when not all swords are double-edged, does the proverb use swords instead of daggers (which are double edged?)?
There are two reasons for the phrase taking this form. First, as you pointed out, daggers are always double-edged, and by a similar token until recent times a small, double-edged blade would not be likely to be described as a "double-edged knife" but simply as a dagger. Using a sword, which may have either one or two cutting edges, drives home the point (no pun intended) that the situation being referred to is distinct in that it can be good and/or bad. A similar comparison between a knife and a dagger would distract from the phrase's actual message.
The second reason is that swords are the ubiquitous human weapon. Swords are well known and have long histories all over the world, were in their many forms the weapon of choice the world over until the rise of firearms, and have associated with them a certain nostalgia and mythic quality. This has led to them being the "weapon of choice" when a weapon is called for.
For example, you might just as well say "The pen is mightier than the warhammer", but the phrase uses the sword instead as it is a more evocative and readily recognized symbol, along with being a more popular and enduring weapon.
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