come to blows
English
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb
come to blows (third-person singular simple present comes to blows, present participle coming to blows, simple past came to blows, past participle come to blows)
- (idiomatic) To fight; to initiate physical conflict, especially subsequent to escalating tension or antagonism.
- 1841, James Fenimore Cooper, chapter 6, in The Deerslayer:
- I'll follow you, Floating Tom, into the Mingo camp, on such an arr'nd, and will strive to do my duty, should we come to blows; though, never having been tried in battle, I don't like to promise more than I may be able to perform.
- 1905, Upton Sinclair, chapter I, in The Jungle, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 26 February 1906, →OCLC:
- [T]here is a variety of drunkenness. . . . Some stagger about in each other's arms, whispering maudlin words—others start quarrels upon the slightest pretext, and come to blows and have to be pulled apart.
- 1966 September 9, “LA Jumpy? Two Stars Near Blows”, in Milwaukee Sentinel, USA, retrieved 29 Aug. 2010:
- The argument grew heated and teammates grabbed the pair to prevent them from coming to blows.
- 2009 March 24, Rania Abouzeid, “Arab-Kurd Tensions Could Threaten Iraq's Peace”, in Time:
- Iraqi security forces and peshmerga almost came to blows in the disputed area of Khanaqin, in Diyala province, after Iraqi troops tried to enter the mixed town.
- (impersonal) To degrade into a fight or physical conflict (in reference to an argument or to a situation of tension or antagonism).
- They exchanged insults, without it coming to blows.
Synonyms
See also
References
- “come to blows”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
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