come to a head

“The question of half-pay did not come to a head until May, when its opponents proposed referring the measure to the states for decision—a backhanded way to kill it.”

Simon & Schuster: Robert Morris

“This poultice is to scatter or drive back the disease, which it will do in a few days if matter is not already formed at the bone; where matter has formed at the bone the disease must come to a head -- in this case steam and anoint it as above directed, and apply a poultice made of one-third poke-root to two-thirds buckeye-root, (the bark off the roots is the part used) they are to be boiled, thickened and applied, as directed for the cat-paw or pole cat poultice.”

The Cherokee Physician, or Indian Guide to Health, as Given by Richard Foreman, a Cherokee Doctor; Comprising a Brief View of Anatomy, With General Rules for Preserving Health without the Use of Medicines. The Diseases of the U. States, with Their Symptoms, Causes, and Means of Prevention, are Treated on in a Satisfactory Manner. It Also Contains a Description of a Variety of Herbs and Roots, Many of which are not Explained in Any Other Book, and their Medical Virtues have Hitherto been Unknown to the Whites; To which is Added a Short Dispensatory.

“Work on the PBC began to come to a head on the afternoon of December 6 with an “informal” General Assembly meeting chaired by perm reps Augustine Mahiga of Tanzania and Ellen Loj of Denmark.”

Simon & Schuster: Surrender is not an Option

“For the growing antagonism between him and Owen had come to a head early in the preceding year, when the latter, taking advantage of the permission to use the lecture-theatre at Jermyn Street for the delivery of a paleontological course, unwarrantably assumed the title of Professor of Paleontology at the School of Mines, to the obvious detriment of Huxley's position there.”

The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley