different between fisticuffs vs barney

English

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /?f?s.t?.k?fs/

Noun

fisticuffs pl (plural only)

1. plural of fisticuff
2. (plural only, informal) An impromptu fight with the fists, usually between only two people.
   • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque, and Other Papers, "Virginibus Puerisque,"

     People who share a cell in the Basti[l]le […] if they do not immediately fall to fisticuffs, will find some possible ground of compromise.

   • 1890, Edmondo de Amicis translated by Caroline Tilton, Holland and Its People, Chapter XII

     […] , his head all scarred with the sticks and fisticuffs which he had got in the taverns at Utrecht, […]

3. (plural only, sports, dated) Bare-knuckled boxing, a form of boxing done without boxing gloves or similar padding.
   • 1870, Charles Dicken, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Chapter XVII

     In his college days of athletic exercises, Mr. Crisparkle had known professors of the Noble Art of fisticuffs, […]

Synonyms

• (informal: fight): brawl, fight, fist-fight, punch-up
• (bare-knuckled boxing): prizefighting

Related terms

• fist
• fisticuff
• fisticuffer

Translations

See also

• boxing
• fighting

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bä?ni, IPA^(key): /?b??ni/
• (General American) enPR: bä??ni, IPA^(key): /?b??ni/
• Rhymes: -??(?)ni

Etymology 1

Etymology unknown. Often incorrectly thought to be Cockney rhyming slang from "Barney Rubble" ( "trouble", from the character Barney Rubble on The Flintstones), it actually dates back to the 19th century and its origin is unknown.

Noun

barney (plural barneys)

1. (obsolete, Britain, slang) A lark, a romp, some fun.
2. (obsolete, Britain, slang) A hoax, a humbug, something that is not genuine, a rigged or unfair sporting contest.
3. (obsolete, Harvard University slang) A poor recitation. [c. 1810]
4. (Britain, Australia, slang) A noisy argument.
5. (Britain, Australia, slang) A minor physical fight.
6. (US dialect, Boston) A student at Harvard University.

Adjective

barney (comparative more barney, superlative most barney)

1. (obsolete, Britain, slang) insane crazy, loony.

Synonyms

• (noisy argument): quarrel, row, or see Thesaurus:dispute
• (fight): fisticuffs, scuffle, or see Thesaurus:fight

Verb

barney (third-person singular simple present barneys, present participle barneying, simple past and past participle barneyed)

1. (obsolete, Harvard University slang) To recite badly; to fail. [c. 1810]
2. (Britain, Australia) To argue, to quarrel.

Synonyms

• (argue): bicker, have a barney, row, squabble, or see Thesaurus:squabble

References

• Hall, Benjamin Homer (1851) A Collection of College Words and Customs?^[8], page 15
• Albert Barrère and Charles G[odfrey] Leland, compilers and editors (1889–1890) , “barney”, in A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant […], volume I (A–K), Edinburgh: […] The Ballantyne Press, OCLC 882571771, pages 81–82
• Farmer, John Stephen (1890) Slang and Its Analogues?^[9], volume 1, page 129

Etymology 2

From the character Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.

Noun

barney (plural barneys)

1. (US, pejorative slang) A police officer, usually one perceived as inferior or overzealous.
   • 2005, “Scott Peterson's sister speaks out”, in (Please provide the title of the work)?^[10], MSNBC, March 3, 2005: “Foo”

Synonyms

• (police officer): fed, pig, or see Thesaurus:police officer

Anagrams

• brayne, nearby