bareknuckle: Meaning and Definition of

bare•knuck•le

Pronunciation: (bâr'nuk'ul), [key]
— adj.
  1. (of a prizefight, prizefighter, etc.) without boxing gloves; using the bare fists.
  2. without conventional niceties; rough-and-tumble.
—adv.
  1. without boxing gloves.
  2. in a rough-and-tumble manner.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.