brass knuckles

American  

noun

1. a band of metal with four holes that fits over the upper fingers and that is gripped when a fist is made, used for increasing the effect of a blow with the fist.

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Usage

What else does brass knuckles mean? Brass knuckles are a piece of metal designed to fit around the fingers by the lower knuckles and gripped by the hand. They can pack a powerful, potentially lethal punch.How do you pronounce brass knuckles?[ bras nuhk-uhls ]

Etymology

Origin of brass knuckles

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

Small groups of extremists, some members sporting brass knuckles, showed up at one farmers’ demonstration last month in the southern city of Montpellier.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2024

Business and civic leaders, in the large corporations and the elite universities, should grow some brass knuckles, too.

From Salon • Nov. 20, 2020

One wears gem-encrusted brass knuckles as a crown.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2019

He crafts dialogue with the florid, evocative quality endemic to writers who get their start on pulp literature, wielding similes like brass knuckles.

From The Guardian • Mar. 22, 2019

Did you know Jacques Lacan, the most celebrated psychoanalyst of his time, used to carry a set of brass knuckles?

From Washington Post • May 15, 2018