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You are here: Home / Language / What Does the Expression “Duking it Out” Mean and How Did the Phrase Originate?

What Does the Expression “Duking it Out” Mean and How Did the Phrase Originate?

July 24, 2020 by Karen Hill

“Duking it out” and “Put up your dukes” are both expressions from the early 1800s when bare-knuckle boxing was considered a lower-class activity.

When Frederick Augustus, the then duke of York took up the sport, English high society was shocked.

The “Duke” gained so much admiration from the other boxers, however, that they began referring to their fists as their “dukes of York” and eventually as their “dukes.”

And that’s how we got the phrase “duking it out”.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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