brink
    n 1: a region marking a boundary [syn: brink, threshold,
         verge]
    2: the edge of a steep place
    3: the limit beyond which something happens or changes; "on the
       verge of tears"; "on the brink of bankruptcy" [syn: verge,
       brink]

Brink \Brink\ (br[i^][ng]k), n. [Dan. brink edge, verge; akin to
   Sw. brink declivity, hill, Icel. brekka; cf. LG. brink a
   grassy hill, W. bryn hill, bryncyn hillock.]
   The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a
   precipice; a bank or edge, as of a river or pit; a verge; a
   border; as, the brink of a chasm. Also Fig. "The brink of
   vice." --Bp. Porteus. "The brink of ruin." --Burke.
   [1913 Webster]

         The plashy brink of weedy lake.          --Bryant.
   [1913 Webster] brinkmanship