hand-to-hand struggle
- noun
- /hænd tə hænd ˈstrʌɡl/
:
lucha cuerpo a cuerpo
- In that regard, I have the feeling that everything I'm trying to do involves a hand-to-hand struggle with the French language, a turbulent but primal hand-to-hand struggle.
Examples
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As the chaos unfolded, the two opponents were locked in a tense hand-to-hand struggle.
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The soldiers engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand struggle during the battle.
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In that regard, I have the feeling that everything I'm trying to do involves a hand-to-hand struggle with the French language, a turbulent but primal hand-to-hand struggle.
Blog text (10) -
In the narrow alley, the brawlers had no choice but to resort to a desperate hand-to-hand struggle.
Synonyms
∞
1.3
A physical struggle between people or groups that involves hitting and sometimes weapons
854
3.5
A fight between soldiers or armed groups in a war
270
1.4
A sport where two people hold, push, or throw each other to make the other person's shoulders touch the ground
28
3.3
A fight where people hit each other with their bare hands
3
2.8
A physical fight where people hold and try to keep each other on the ground
3
6.7
A close hand-to-hand fight often seen in wrestling
1
4.8
Fighting where people hold and wrestle each other without hitting
A physical fight using only hands between people
How Close
Surface Forms
Morphology
hand-to-hand + struggle
The phrase is compositionally transparent: 'hand-to-hand' literally signals close physical contact using the hands and 'struggle' means fight or grapple, so a learner who knows those words can infer a close-range fight (typically without weapons). This construction is semantically literal and mirrors similar expressions in many languages, making it readily understandable to an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Hand-to-hand struggle comes from the image of two people fighting so close they use their hands on each other instead of weapons. That's why it means a 'close fight' with no weapons.