pistols at dawn

English

Noun

pistols at dawn (uncountable)

1. A duel.
2. (by extension) A disagreement strong enough to evoke a duel.
   • 2009, Wendy Leigh, Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance, page 149:

     By rights, the making of To Wong Foo should have been fun for Patrick, Wesley, and John, but from the first it was pistols at dawn.