knock-down-and-drag-out
1
8.8
- adjective
- /nɑk daʊn ənd dræɡ aʊt/
- NSFW
- Their argument turned into a knock-down-and-drag-out confrontation that lasted for hours.
Examples
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It was supposed to be a simple meeting, but it turned into a knock-down-and-drag-out debate.
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The championship ended in a knock-down-and-drag-out battle for the trophy.
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What a knock-down-and-drag-out fight!
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The match turned into a knock-down-and-drag-out fight!
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The championship ended in a knock-down-and-drag-out battle for the trophy.
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Their argument turned into a knock-down-and-drag-out confrontation that lasted for hours.
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It was supposed to be a simple meeting, but it turned into a knock-down-and-drag-out debate.
Synonyms
1
9.7
A very violent and long fight or argument
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
knock-down-and-drag-out = knock-down + drag-out (transparent) = knock + down + and + drag + out
The phrase is a straightforward compound of two familiar phrasal verbs ('knock down' and 'drag out') joined by 'and', so the sense of a very violent fight follows directly from the components.
Etymology
Knock-down-and-drag-out comes from the clear picture of a real, physical fight where someone is 'hit' (knock), sent 'down' (down) and then 'pulled out' (drag out). So the phrase now describes any fight, argument, or contest that is extremely violent or intense.