cut and thrust

fencing using both the blade and the point of a sword

(in argument, debate, etc) a lively and spirited exchange of ideas or opinions

Words nearby cut and thrust

Methinks there will be cut-and-thrust work ere the proud Norman reach his prey.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 68, No 422, December 1850 |Various
The Faus (falso: from falx) appears to have been a kind of spear with a broad, cut-and-thrust blade.

Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe |John Hewitt
And finally, there was a cut-and-thrust sword of alarming dimensions.

Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks |Bracebridge Hemyng
The word “Broad-sword” may be taken to include all kinds of cut-and-thrust swords.

Broad-Sword and Single-Stick |R. G. Allanson-Winn

Her shrewd question, uttered almost unthinkingly in the cut-and-thrust of repartee, had got home somewhere on an old wound.

The Hermit of Far End |Margaret Pedler