pointed; tapering; sharp / (of a sound) shrill; piercing / (of one's hearing, sight etc) sharp; acute; keen / to make (one's voice) shrill / sharp point; tip / the best of sth; the cream of the crop
lit. to penetrate into a bull's horn (idiom); fig. to waste time on an insoluble or insignificant problem / to bash one's head against a brick wall / a wild goose chase / a blind alley / to split hairs