bare knuckles

Yuribear

Yuribear

Senior Member
California
Español, Mex-USA
Hi there,

I am not sure what this expression means and I need to translate it. Could you please explain it to me?

The phrase reads: figured in recent bare-knuckles court battles.

Thanks!!!!:D
 
    • It is a common expression relating to Courts of Law.
    The meaning is that the interrogation or questioning or arguing was so intense that there were effectively no rules and the combatants 'went at it hammer and tongs' or 'with no holds barred'.

    There was utterly no physical contact and no one was attacked physically but the analogy is with bare knuckle prize fighting where there were only primitive rules and no protection for the participants and the fight was over only when one man was not able to rise to his feet.

    It is in comparison with later boxing matters governed by the Marquis of Queensbury's rules which are deemed to be more civilized.

    .,,
     
    Bare-knuckle. adj : characterized by disorderly action and disregard for rules. Syn. rough-and-tumble. (dictionary.com)
     
    dbelle4500 said:
    Bare knuckles is used to signify that they had no protection on their hands like boxing gloves.
    Click to expand...
    The gloves are to protect the face and body of the recepient not the hands of the puncher.
    Bare knuckle bouts were considered too brutal for commercialization.

    .,,
     
    . said:
    The gloves are to protect the face and body of the recepient not the hands of the puncher.
    Bare knuckle bouts were considered too brutal for commercialization.
    Click to expand...
    You beat me to it, point-virgule-virgule. Strange to have to point that out, but I don't guess most people who hang around language forums have ever been punched full-force by a bare fist and a boxing glove, so as to make the comparison. There is no comparison.

    Even worse is a tight leather glove, made of horsehide or split cowhide-- a "work glove." Wearing one of these, you can hit a lot harder than you would with your bare fist, because it affords protection to your knuckles without adding any real padding to soften the blow.

    "Went at it with work gloves" doesn't quite sound as bad as "bare knuckles," so I guess it doesn't come into figurative use.
    .
     
    foxfirebrand said:
    Even worse is a tight leather glove, made of horsehide or split cowhide-- a "work glove." Wearing one of these, you can hit a lot harder than you would with your bare fist, because it affords protection to your knuckles without adding any real padding to soften the blow.
    Click to expand...
    Hellenistic Greeks would wrap their fists with a band of leather with two intentions.
    It afforded support to the bones of the fist and it caused nasty bleeding wounds on the recepient and this was for the Ancient Olympics.

    .,,
     
    . said:
    The gloves are to protect the face and body of the recepient not the hands of the puncher.
    Bare knuckle bouts were considered too brutal for commercialization.

    .,,
    Click to expand...

    I thought that the original "prize fighters" were bare-knuckle men?
     
    maxiogee said:
    I thought that the original "prize fighters" were bare-knuckle men?
    Click to expand...
    I think that prize fighters were all part of an illegal activity and the constant requirement to change venues to avoid the wallopers was bad for business so The Marquis came in to work out ways to clean it up enough to enable the 'sport' to be legalised.
    With gloves came respectability of a kind and the big money could be made by advertisers.

    .,,
     
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