Idiom
drop the gloves
Meaning
To fight.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The two players dropped the gloves during the hockey game.”
“You should drop the gloves and stand up for yourself.”
“After the argument became too heated, he finally dropped the gloves and challenged his rival to a fight.”
“The two politicians dropped the gloves during the debate, attacking each other's personal lives instead of discussing their plans for the city.”
“When the neighbors started building a fence on her property, she dropped the gloves and hired a lawyer to stop them immediately.”
“Realizing that negotiation was no longer a viable path, the union leaders dropped the gloves and prepared for a long, public confrontation with the company.”
Examples
simple
“The two players dropped the gloves during the hockey game.”
“You should drop the gloves and stand up for yourself.”
contextual
“After the argument became too heated, he finally dropped the gloves and challenged his rival to a fight.”
“The two politicians dropped the gloves during the debate, attacking each other's personal lives instead of discussing their plans for the city.”
“When the neighbors started building a fence on her property, she dropped the gloves and hired a lawyer to stop them immediately.”
complex
“Realizing that negotiation was no longer a viable path, the union leaders dropped the gloves and prepared for a long, public confrontation with the company.”
Origin
From the ice hockey regulation requiring players to shed their protective equipment before engaging in fisticuffs. The heavy, padded gloves are removed to allow a better grip on an opponent’s jersey and to ensure the bare knuckles can be used with maximum efficiency. It is a procedural prelude to a fight, signaling that a player has moved past the sporting formalities and into the business of striking blows.
Key words
Related idioms
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