fisticuff
Americannoun
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a cuff or blow with the fist.
-
fisticuffs, combat with the fists.
verb (used with or without object)
Other Word Forms
- fisticuffer noun
Etymology
Origin of fisticuff
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was not often that my siblings had true fights, but when they did, they were monster, one-on-one fisticuff affairs, and Helen had picked the Mount Everest of fighters.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
His food would be snatched away and a lively fisticuff probably follow during which the inevitable “yaller dog” was usually the gainer.
From The Boy from Hollow Hut A Story of the Kentucky Mountains by Mullins, Isla May
Literature has hitherto glorified serene immobility, ecstasy, and sleep; they will extol aggressive movement, feverish insomnia, the double-quick step, the somersault, the box on the ear, the fisticuff.
From Ivory Apes and Peacocks by Huneker, James
The bigger boy became enraged at this refusal to continue the play, and seemed inclined to resort to fisticuff, but I interposed and put a stop to the affray.
From The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Volume II (of II) by Steinmetz, Andrew
If his fairy-godmother had prearranged this fisticuff, she could not have done anything better so far as Killigrew was concerned.
From The Voice in the Fog by MacGrath, Harold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
