brass-knuckled

adjective

brass-knuck·​led

: inclined to or exhibiting aggression, hostility, or combativeness

Arnault's willingness to wage the sort of highly publicized, brass-knuckled takeover battle formerly anathema to European executives has a lot to do with the U.S. market.

—Dana Thomas, et al., Newsweek, 5 Apr. 1999

Word History

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

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