no holds barred
9
6.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
sin restricciones
- When I return, there will be no holds barred.
You'll see that anything goes no holds barred.
- You'll see that anything goes no holds barred.
- Not only do we have the record in this no holds barred competition, but we are holding it by nearly half the time.
- You burn them to the ground, no holds barred, not no punishment is too extreme.
- A hard no holds barred look at the disconnection.
- That's what it means to believe, to accept that no holds barred away the hell we go.
- And I just found this British guy, working class, no holds barred.
Examples
-
Who stands to lose most in a no-holds-barred confrontation between public sector unions and the government over pensions?
Academic text (2011) -
I like to discuss things, no holds barred, anything goes.
Blog text (19) -
From now on, it's no holds barred.
-
With the race still considered dead even, there will be no holds barred between now and November 6.
Blog text (10) -
Then the consultants gave a no-holds-barred assessment.
Academic text (2010) -
Jackson loves a nasty trial, and plays the game with no holds barred.
Fiction book (1995) -
They wanna do whatever they want, no holds barred.
-
I am talking about a "no holds barred," "taking no prisoners" fight to retain our liberty and freedom.
Blog text (24) -
In our house, there were no holds barred, nothing we couldn't joke about, nothing that wasn't funny.
Fiction book (1999) -
In this debate, it's no holds barred; everyone can express their opinions without fear of backlash.
Synonyms
3
6.1
Not limited or held back and able to act freely
Without walls or edges, things move freely
Antonyms
How Restricted
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts ('no' + 'holds' + 'barred') can be reinterpreted as 'no holds are barred' → i.e. no holds are forbidden, which points to the idea of no restrictions. However, the phrase is elliptical and derives from a specific wrestling usage; the passive/adjectival use of 'barred' and the specialized sense of 'hold' make the meaning only partly predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom no holds barred comes from wrestling: a hold is a grip and a barred hold was 'not allowed', so when a match was no holds barred wrestlers could use any grip. That's why today it means 'without any restrictions'.