Double Edged Quotes & Sayings

When you're used to having nothing, nothing becomes your everything, and you never really want for anything. But it's a double-edged sword, because there's the danger of becoming complacent, becoming too happy with that nothing, because you've never known anything better. Complacency is the death of dreams, and freedom. — Isaac Hooke

The Lord wants double edged artistry, praising God's name and setting things straight. — Calvin Seerveld

I think Star Trek has been very double-edged for all of us - as actors, writers, directors. — Jonathan Frakes

Time is a double-edged sword: while it might heal all wounds; it also kills all the healed. — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Modern science is necessarily a double-edged tool, a tool that cuts both ways ... There is no doubt that a Zeppelin is a wonderful thing; but that did not prevent it from becoming a horrible thing. — Gilbert K. Chesterton

All of these mechanisms we have for celebrating are so double-edged. So much sorrow comes out of joy. — Dan Colen

He's not afraid to trust anyone. That's his strength. But it's also a double-edged sword. — Hotaru Odagiri

He raised the sheet in front of his chest, an almost protective gesture. "It comes." Fear in his voice. "What comes?" "The sun." I glanced at the closed drapes against the far wall. They were double thick, but a line of greyish light edged them. "You'll be alright like this without your coffin?" "As long as no one opens the drapes." He looked at me for a long moment. "I love you, ma petite, as much as I'm able." I — Laurell K. Hamilton

So called 'late-bloomers' get a bad rap. Sometimes the people with the greatest potential often take the longest to find their path because their sensitivity is a double edged sword- it lives at the heart of their brilliance, but it also makes them more susceptible to life's pains. Good thing we aren't being penalized for handing in our purpose late. The soul doesn't know a thing about deadlines. — Jeff Brown

Technology is a bit of a double-edged sword. Used right, it's a wonderful tool, but unfortunately, it makes it easier for a lot of mediocre people to get really crappy ideas out. — Martin Gore

Some are born virtuous, some become virtuous. To be good by nature is indeed fortunate but to become good is like walking on a double-edged sword; it takes a longer time and is more painful. — Umera Ahmed

Playing Marcia was a double-edged sword; it always will be whenever you play a character like that. You will be known as that character forever. — Maureen McCormick

First of all, plain and simple, you have no real idea of what it means to be famous until you become famous. It's a double-edged sword. Obviously there are a lot of amazing things about fame, but there are also a lot of challenging things about it. — Michelle Pfeiffer

Zen is a double-edged sword, killing words and thoughts, yet at the same time, giving them life. Although beyond human intellect and philosophy, Zen is their root and source. — Masao Abe

Fame is very much a double-edged sword. — Kevin Bacon

But the truth is a double-edged sword; it is a dangerous thing. — Michael Scott

Shows can come and go. They can be a hit and then in three years, gone. There's some comfort in having the stability of a job and having children. It's a double-edged sword. — Calista Flockhart

Time for me is now double-edged: every day brings me further from the low of my last relapse but closer to the next recurrence - and, eventually, death. Perhaps later than I think, but certainly sooner than I desire. — Paul Kalanithi

The intense media coverage of today's campus shootings presents a double edged sword. On the one hand, it gives us a chance to think about and reflect on the causes; on the other hand, in a very small minority of unstable minds, the repeated telling of the stories can be interpreted as glamorous. — Matthew Pearl

The meaning of all addictions could be defined as endeavors at controlling our life experiences with the help of external remedies. . . . Unfortunately, all external means of improving our life experiences are double-edged swords: they are always good and bad. No external remedy improves our condition without, at the same time, making it worse. — Thomas Hora

Love may be able to force you into precarious situations, it may lead you into double-edged bonfires and you don't smell the smoke, you only see the temptation of a perfume. — Laura Gentile

You hit a certain age and - especially because of TV - the young cooks coming up say, 'You're a sellout, because you're doing something other than what you should be doing.' 'Top Chef' is a double-edged sword for me: There's a whole group of people who will not come to the restaurants because they assume I'm not in them anymore, all I do is TV. — Tom Colicchio

Practically raised by wolves, we had joked. The monster and the metaphor, and the way they match up that makes the double-edged word of wit. And then you realize what your words have done, and you weep because you're both bleeding. — Kat Howard

A double-edged sword was more useful than no weapon at all. — Charlie N. Holmberg

Misfits deal with the double-edged reality of having our differences act as the source of both our challenges as well as our successes. — Tiffany L. Jackson

We have to realize that science is a double-edged sword. One edge of the sword can cut against poverty, illness, disease and give us more democracies, and democracies never war with other democracies, but the other side of the sword could give us nuclear proliferation, biogerms and even forces of darkness. — Michio Kaku

Evil is a double-edged sword, if you use it you'll end up cutting you — Miguel El Portugues

Love is a double-edged sword. It can be a gift from God or a curse from the devil, all depending on how you chose to wield it. — K'wan

Trust was a double-edged sword. It could give you hope, but it could cut you in an instant when it was broken. — Tiffany King

Memory is a double-edged sword, Uthas. It can keep you strong through dark times, but it can also cripple you, keep you locked in a moment that no longer exists. — John Gwynne

In certain areas of my life, I actively seek out solitude. Especially for someone in my line of work, solitude is, more or less, an inevitable circumstance. Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person's heart and dissolve it. You could see it, too, as a kind of double-edged sword. It protects me, but at the same time steadily cuts away at me from the inside. — Haruki Murakami

Anger is a double edged sword and it generally cuts the one who yields it the deepest — Stanley Victor Paskavich

Gratefulness is a double-edged sword. Because I think we've poured it into a feeling. And the batter of gratitude gets kind of stuck to the edges of the Williams Sonoma melamine mixing bowl. But gratefulness, the act of being grateful is actually ... a verb. It's an activity. — Abigail Spencer

To summarize, using money to motivate people can be a double-edged sword. For tasks that require cognitive ability, low to moderate performance-based incentives can help. But when the incentive level is very high, it can command too much attention and thereby distract the person's mind with thoughts about the reward. This can create stress and ultimately reduce the level of performance. — Dan Ariely

She held out her hands, palms up, the white fingers lightly spread, and with a barely audible click, ten double-edged, four-centimeter scalpel blades slid from their housings beneath the burgundy nails.
She smiled. The blades slowly withdrew. — William Gibson

Sadly, because of our tribal brains, science carries a hefty cost. Treasured ideas that are loved by the community may be left behind, unable to compete with conflicting observations. Admired heroes may be found to have been mistaken. Years of hard work can amount to nothing thanks to a single observation, making a lifetime of effort seem like a waste of time. For our tribal brain, the philosopher's toolbox is full of double-edged knives, capable of cutting away our hopes with the myths. — Mike McRae

That's double-edged: it's amazing that they're bringing me in and showing people new ideas, and at the same time it's a little hard because seventy percent of the time or even higher I'm not going to get those roles. — Rachel True

Her empathy was like a double-edged razor that allowed her to experience the nethermost of human joys and sorrows. The best and worst of emotions cut her to the bone. The pain of her heart was like a tortuous phantom that lived outside her body. She could feel its presence. It clung to her breasts like a nursing infant. Pressure on her chest. Stealing her breath. I don't want to hurt like this, she thought. Then she remembered the alternative. She pictured life without feeling and imagined the sociopath existence. It is better to feel, she said. — C.J. Anderson

Pride is a tricky, glorious, double-edged feeling. — Adrienne Rich

Entitlement is a double- edged sword (or a double-jawed trap) for kids. On one edge it gives kids all that they don't need - indulgence, dullness, conceit, and laziness; and on the backswing, it takes from them everything they do need - motivation, inde- pendence, inventiveness, pride, responsibility, and a chance to really work for things and to build their own sense of fulfill- ment and self-esteem. — Richard Eyre

I was extremely close with my parents. Breaking away from that is a double-edged sword: It's something you need to do, but it's hard to cut the apron strings. — Linda Cardellini

A review is a double-edged sword. It will either get people interested, or it might drive people away before they even click "buy". — B.A. Gabrielle

When people talk about the 'feminization of labor', then, their discourse is often double-edged. The phrase is at once descriptive (work is generally more precarious and communication-based, as women's jobs tended to be in the past) and an expression of resentment ('women have stolen proper men's jobs! It's their fault - somehow - that we don't have any proper industry anymore!'). — Nina Power

He was always on point in an almost obsessive way, which was a double-edged sword. He was quick to get shit done, but he also had a tendency to drive everyone crazy in the process because Cane didn't have patience for shit. — K.C. Mills

Language is double-edged; through words a fuller view of reality emerges, but words can also serve to fragment reality. — Vera John-Steiner

Seeing how easy it has been to use Twitter for good has exposed the double-edged sword of how easy it could be to co-opt. — Rachel Sklar

It was clear to me that the vulnerable point of the American Grandmaster (Bobby Fischer) was in double-edged, hanging, irrational positions, where he often failed to find a win even in a won position — Efim Geller

Security is a double-edged sword: While a fence sure protects the fenced; it also imprisons the protected. — Mokokoma Mokhonoana

Technology is, of course, a double edged sword. Fire can cook our food but also burn us. — Jason Silva

12For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. — Anonymous

A double-edged sword
One side destroys
One releases
I am your Gordian knot
Will you release or destroy me?
Follow truth and you shall:
Find me on water
Purify me through fire
Trapped by earth nevermore
Air will whisper to you
What spirit already knows:
That even shattered
anything is possible
If you believe
Then we shall both be free. — Kristin Cast

Great writers wield their words like a weapon; a double-edged sword to strike their readers with truth where they least expect it. -Matthew D. Forgenti — Matthew D. Forgenti

With one Like I can say hi to a friend, support them during a crisis, share in a joke, make someone happy, or reinforce a person's self esteem. I make myself part of their world. It's like I stopped by for coffee. But, by Liking, I can also avoid talking to all the people I don't want to waste time on. Or I can check to see what my ex-girlfriend is doing seven or eight times an hour. It's a double-edged mouse click. — Bart Hopkins

Users are a double-edged sword. They can help you improve your language, but they can also deter you from improving. So choose your users carefully, and be slow to grow their number. Having users is like optimization: the wise course is to delay it. — Paul Graham

Information can be such a double-edged sword. — Jessiqua Wittman

No one creates a double-edged sword without the intent of using both sides. — Priscilla Vogelbacher

We are double-edged blades, and every time we whet our virtue the return stroke strops our vice. — Henry David Thoreau

Free will ... is a double edged sword. It can either lead you down the roads of peace, joy and happiness or the roads of darkness and despair! — Timothy Pina

Incompetence is a double-edged banana. — John Perry Barlow

I mean, it's a bit of a double-edged sword being a celebrity and being an actor as I'm sure you know. Your public laundry is constantly aired out and I thought that maybe I could do some good. — Daniel Baldwin

Social media is a double-edged sword. I've gotten in trouble for announcing, too soon, something that the network or the studio wanted to do, and it steals some of the thunder, so to speak. — Charisma Carpenter

I think every chef, not just in America, but across the world, has a double-edged sword - two jackets, one that's driven, a self-confessed perfectionist, thoroughbred, hate incompetence and switch off the stove, take off the jacket and become a family man. — Gordon Ramsay

The pen, a double-edged mystery: cuts the writer, heals the reader. — Jenim Dibie

In Shubert Alley that night, I had unwittingly reached the threshold of an entire landscape of alleys that would lead to a world of theaters, each a house packed with strangers both generous and mean, shabby and grand. It was to be a life full of the transitory moments, double-edged with ecstasy and loss, that I had already come to think of as the theater. — Frank Rich

The anticipation-speculation that comes with a weekly schedule is a double-edged sword. Because people have more time to talk about things, some crazy ideas get a lot of attention. — Cary Fukunaga

Tumblr culture and the whole reappropriation-without-context thing are a double-edged sword in that they both raise awareness of my work and also kind of devalue it at the same time. — Bryan Lee O'Malley

Science, as illustrated by the printing press, the telegraph, the railway, is a double-edged sword. At the same moment that it puts an enormous power in the hands of the good man, it also offers an equal advantage to the evil disposed. — Richard Jefferies

She loves you, loathes you, treats you well, then ill. Like a leech or a surgeon's knife, she's double-edged: sometimes she'll cure, but sometimes she will kill. — Arturo Perez-Reverte

Solitude is, more or less, an inevitable circumstance. Sometimes, however, this sense of isolation, like acid spilling out of a bottle, can unconsciously eat away at a person's heart and dissolve it. You could see it, too, as a kind of double-edged sword. It protects me, but at the same time steadily cuts away at me from the inside. I think in my own way I'm aware of this danger - probably through experience - and that's why I've had to constantly keep my body in motion, in some cases pushing myself to the limit, in order to heal the loneliness I feel inside and to put it in perspective. Not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction. — Haruki Murakami

His account books reflect a concern with fashion, as shown by periodic visits to a French tailor, and his sartorial elegance is confirmed in portraits. In one painting, he wears a double-breasted coat with brass buttons and gilt-edged lapels, his neck swathed delicately in a ruffled lace jabot. — Ron Chernow

My knives are like a tongue - I love, I do not love, I hate. If you don't love me, I am ready to attack. I am a double-edged knife. — Louise Bourgeois

I can certainly throw out some observation about the process of creating which may be of use. Firstly, it's the best & the worst of worlds, because the only fuel you have to make the fire blaze on the page / screen is the stuff of your own being. An artist consumes his or herself in the act of making art. I can feel that consumption even now, sitting here at my desk at the end of a working day. In order to generate the ideas that I have set on the page for the last 10 or 11 hours I have burned the fuel of my own history. This is, obviously a double-edged sword. In order to give, the artist must take from himself. That's the deal. And it's very important to me that the work I do is the best I can make it, because I know what is being burned up to create. As the villain of Sacrament says: living & dying, we feed the fire. — Clive Barker

But hope seduces like a silver tongue, double-edged like a dagger that cuts both ways. — Charlie Fletcher

She considered compassion the highest virtue, but that night on Obstetric Ward B, it had had a twin sister whose face was invisible to Carla. The suffering women, however, had recognized it immediately: condemnation. — Erik Valeur

Freedom is a double-edged ideal, because true freedom comes without the protection of laws that also enslave us by defining us
female, male; Christian, Islamic; good, evil. All at the whim of a frail minority. — Ellen Hopkins

Truth is like a double edged sword.

Truth, as in the colors of the rainbow, are truths, not to be confused with THE TRUTH, which is like LIGHT, all colors and no single color.

The Truth is like a tree, with all its fruit, while truths are like the fruit on the tree, part of the whole; parts of The Truth, half-truths.

Truth can be true, yet it can also lie.

So the question is does truth lead to THE TRUTH, or do truths lead us to a lie ? To see the difference is the key to the gates of Eden. — Caesar J. B. Squitti

Social media is something of a double-edged sword. At its best, social media offers unprecedented opportunities for marginalized people to speak and bring much needed attention to the issues they face. At its worst, social media also offers 'everyone' an unprecedented opportunity to share in collective outrage without reflection. — Roxane Gay