I. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
brass knuckles
cracked...knuckles
▪
Dennis rubbed his hands together and cracked his knuckles .
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
brass
▪
The writer was wearing a bulletproof vest and had brass knuckles and chemical repellent in other pockets.
▪
Its grip consisted of brass knuckles , was a chain of rings through which Weary slipped his stubby fingers.
white
▪
But the rent strikes brought her out to the world with her small fists clenched in a white-knuckle fury.
▪
He gripped her hand with white knuckles , and could say nothing, to her or to anyone else.
▪
Some pilots stood serenely, studying their cigarette smoke; but then Peacock saw their white knuckles .
■ VERB
crack
▪
Karma Rubbish smokes at the end of the garden, cracking its knuckles to pass the time.
▪
He sighed a lot, stretched his legs, cracked his knuckles .
▪
Dennis put his glass down and cracked his knuckles dramatically.
▪
It felt like he was cracking a knuckle .
▪
Wishart rubbed his hands together, cracking his knuckles as he tried to control his anger.
▪
Between moves he cracked his knuckles .
▪
Tom was trembling, sitting on the edge of a chair cracking his knuckles .
rap
▪
Kirov felt it with his fingertips and rapped his knuckles against the main body of the sink unit.
▪
Mrs Taylor kept an eye on us, ready to rap our knuckles if we got too greedy.
▪
Ireland has already been rapped over the knuckles for cutting taxes just as its economy was overheating.
▪
They rap their knuckles against cutting boards.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a rap on/over the knuckles
▪
Was it going to be a rap on the knuckles for quality?
rap sb on/over the knuckles
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Beside them both, Cheryl Russell was sucking her bloodied knuckles.
▪
He sighed a lot, stretched his legs, cracked his knuckles.
▪
I clapped my gloves together, surprised when my bare knuckles smacked each other.
▪
Karma Rubbish smokes at the end of the garden, cracking its knuckles to pass the time.
▪
Lee sat reading, folded over the book, chewing a knuckle now.
▪
My consciousness was raised, my knuckles were rapped and I no longer write or think that way.
▪
Susan saw a smear of yellow paint across his knuckles.
▪
The power of the punch is concentrated in a small area of the knuckles.
II. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
down
▪
Mollified, if not entirely convinced, Vincent went back to Mauve and tried hard to knuckle down .
▪
But he kept his anger under control and vowed to knuckle down and fight for a first-team future.
▪
Social workers and their managers are clearly ready to knuckle down to the task of making the policy work for users.
▪
No attempts made to knuckle down and smarten up.
▪
Male speaker I think we've got to knuckle down and work hard.
under
▪
Some coaches knuckle under to that.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a rap on/over the knuckles
▪
Was it going to be a rap on the knuckles for quality?
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
But he kept his anger under control and vowed to knuckle down and fight for a first-team future.
▪
Male speaker I think we've got to knuckle down and work hard.
▪
Mollified, if not entirely convinced, Vincent went back to Mauve and tried hard to knuckle down.
▪
No attempts made to knuckle down and smarten up.
▪
Social workers and their managers are clearly ready to knuckle down to the task of making the policy work for users.
▪
Some coaches knuckle under to that.