bare-knuckle brawl
1. Literally, a fistfight in which the combatants are not wearing protective gloves. He had too much to drink and got into a bare-knuckle brawl with a guy who insulted his jacket. She earned money competing in illegal bare-knuckle brawls on the outskirts of town. I walked into the bar just as a bare-knuckle brawl was breaking out, so I turned around and left!
2. An aggressive confrontation without reservations or restraints. The debate turned into a bare-knuckle brawl between the two political candidates, as they began exchanging nastier and nastier accusations. We always knew it would be a bare-knuckle brawl to get this legislation approved, so we're prepared to do whatever it takes. I'm not looking forward to going to salary arbitration with my team—I've heard those hearings can turn into bare-knuckle brawls.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.