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dukes

/ djuːks /

plural noun

  1. slang,  the fists (esp in the phrase put your dukes up )

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of dukes1

C19: from Duke of Yorks rhyming slang for forks (fingers)
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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

She even offered a homophobic "gay panic" defense, by describing the man as "wearing daisy dukes, at a makeup store."

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"Some unhinged lunatic, a man, wearing daisy dukes, at a makeup store, got in my face today. Dems are nuts. So I went off - and I won’t be backing down," she captioned the post.

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He said Myers illness was physically obvious but as soon as the cameras started rolling "he'd have his dukes up, ready for a scrap".

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The quality time leads to a beautifully still scene where deep in the dunes, Chani tells Paul, “Your blood comes from dukes and great houses. Here, everyone is equal.”

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Over the centuries, the dukes and duchesses of Alba have distinguished themselves in various ways.

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Ellington, DukeDukhobor