society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > fight [verb (intransitive)] > fight with fists (4)
intransitive. To fight with the fists. Obsolete.
transferred. To beat, strike, buffet.
intransitive. To fight with the fists.
Hence several colloquial phrases. near the knuckle: near the permitted limit (esp. in regard to decency); to go the knuckle (Australian slang), to…