Loeb of course crossed swords with Bostock when he was still Chairman of the board at Yahoo!

FORBES: So Long Roy Bostock. Don't Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out.

The French see Mario Monti, the current competition commissioner, as an ultra-liberal: he has crossed swords with Paris several times.

ECONOMIST: The European Commission presidency

Mr Welteke has crossed swords with Hans Eichel, the finance minister, on the budget deficit which he wants reduced and on gold.

ECONOMIST: A tussle over the integrity of a once-great central bank

Similarly, the triumphal arches shaped as two pairs of crossed swords are made from the physical evidence of battle itself.

ECONOMIST: Monumental

Over 700 boys and men, and one woman, crossed swords over eight games, including Counter Strike: Source, Warhammer and StarCraft Brood War.

ECONOMIST: Geeks gather for the world gaming championships

All the parties crossed swords with him at one time or another.

BBC: What next for Northern Ireland?

Haddock and Sakharine have a rivalry that goes back three hundred years: their ancestors crossed swords on the deck of a burning three-master.

NEWYORKER: Double Dare

In a silent comment, Saudis exchanged a cartoon depicting the royal seal's crossed swords over a palm tree as crossed mops over a bucket.

ECONOMIST: Saudi Arabia

She has crossed swords with leading antagonists from all sides.

ECONOMIST: Green, orange, 10% black