noun
thin washer on a sword guard
Technical term for a thin metal washer placed on either side of the tsuba (guard) of a Japanese sword. Not commonly encountered outside of sword-related contexts.
刀の鍔の両側に切羽がはめられている。
Thin washers are fitted on both sides of the sword guard.
noun
up to the hilt; at wits' end
Used almost exclusively in the idiomatic expression 切羽詰まる (せっぱつまる), meaning to be driven to the wall or at one's wits' end. The standalone noun 切羽 is rare in this sense.
See also: 切羽詰まる
「切羽詰まる」という表現で、追い詰められた状態を表す。
The expression 切羽詰まる describes a state of being driven into a corner.
The idiomatic verb phrase meaning 'to be at one's wits' end' or 'to be driven to the wall', derived from the sword-fitting sense of 切羽.
The term originally referred to a thin metal washer on a sword guard. The idiomatic sense 'up to the hilt' or 'at wits' end' likely derives from the image of being pressed right up to the guard, leaving no room to retreat.