with the gloves off

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Idioms and Phrases

With or ready to dispense rough treatment, as in Prepared to oppose the council, the mayor marched into the meeting with the gloves off . This idiom alludes to old-style boxing, when gloves were not used. [Early 1800s]

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April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

with the exception of tongue in cheek, with

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