unfazed/ sharpen

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentence?

Merkel appears unfazed by Hamburg ally's resignation as opposition sharpens knives.

unfazed = unconcerned

sharpen = whet

Thanks for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[SoothingDave]

Not a teacher.

Unfazed is like undisturbed, unbothered, etc. You have the right idea.

To sharpen is to make something sharp. When would you do that to a knife? When you plan on cutting something up.

In this case, this is a term in politics for the opposition getting ready to cut up an opponent. Usually this means someone will be forced to resign or otherwise lose his power.